


After the Battle

by orphan_account



Series: Avengering About [1]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Friendship, Gen, a very ancient fic, basically directly after the first movie, but mostly team-building, but only very very background, clintasha/blackhawk, set after the first movie, so I won't mention it as a relationship I think, there's some angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-02
Updated: 2016-01-02
Packaged: 2018-05-11 03:04:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 21,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5611459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What do the Avengers do after the battle in Manhattan (and after eating Shawarma)? Here's what might happen. Sticking closely to the movie and starring all of the Avengers, Pepper and Fury.</p><p>This fic is ancient. I posted it years ago on ff.net, and while it's still there I'm also moving all my stuff here.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! Glad you made it here! This is quite possibly one of the first fics I've ever written. I'd like to know what you think :) Anyways, enjoy!

As they stepped outside the Shawarma-restaurant, Tony realized that they all looked as if they could fall over and start sleeping at once.

“Shit.“, Clint said and earned a curious look from his partner.

“What? I just don’t like sleeping on the street, but no way I’m making it back to the Helicarrier alive.“

Natasha smiled. “I thought of Stark inviting us to STARK Tower, you know.“

“Where?“

“You know, the big tower the Tesseract was on. It now says A Tower, which isn’t altogether bad, because I think it stands for the Avengers.“

“Huh. I always thought it was a coincidence, the tower named Stark, just like he.“, the archer muttered.

“Actually, why are you talking about my tower?“, Tony asked.

“Because I think we’ll stay the night.“ Natasha smiled sweetly at the billionaire.

“We? Like, Clint and me, or more like we, the Avengers?“

“Last one. Don’t start complaining, ‘cause I’m in the mood for shooting people who don’t obey me right now. And by the way, Clint, you’re going to be the one to call Fury an‘ tell him we’re at Stark’s“, she said and headed off towards the Tower.

“Yeah. Just accommodate yourselves in _my_ tower.“, Tony murmured. And then, more loudly: “Cap, Doc, Thor: get moving. You guys look as if you could need some sleep.“

They had just started following the two master assassins when both of them stopped, a look of horror on their faces. In front of them was an army of reporters, paparazzi, newsmen and -women, radio reporters etc. One woman in the front row immediately started asking questions as all the Avengers were standing in front of her.

“You just saved the world – why do you all look like you lost?“

“Because“ Tony recognized the angry glares of his team, who really didn’t want to get involved in a press conference just now. “because all of us have been awake... let’s say at least 24 hours non-stop. And, ya know... saving the world is quite exhausting, which is why I’ll repulsor-blast anyone who stands in my way between me and my bed. Ask Loki, it’s quite hurtful.“

_Sir, you have got no energy left to repulsor-blast the whole crowd.,_ JARVIS informed him.

“Yeah, well, we don’t need them know it, do we?“, Tony asked under his breath.

_No, but you should consider shutting the suit’s functions down to a minimum. This would also include to shut me down temporarily. Also, you should charge the ARC-reactor as soon as possible, otherwise it may be it can’t power the electromagnet properly._

“Thanks, I guess. Speak ya later, JARVIS.“

“Anyone got any death-wishes?“, Natasha asked from Tony’s left. “‘cause, you know, still got some bullets left.“ She pointed towards her hip, where one of her guns was sitting in its holster.

Slowly, the crowd started to make way.

Steve just went first, expecting the others to follow him. He knew they would.

“So, we’re heading to STARK Tower?“

“Yep.“ Tony said.

“You sure there’s ‘nuff room for all of us?“, the Captain asked.

“Huh, Capsicle ain’t talkin‘ properly? You must be really exhausted. Why shouldn’t there be enough room?“ Tony sped up to walk next to the taller man.

“Because I think the doctor smashed some tiles.“

Natasha popped up on the Captain’s other side.

“You know, when Stark builds a tower, it won’t be impossible to live there, just because of some smashed tiles. And then there are still the other levels.“

She smiled. “And by the way, I think we all would sleep on whatever there is.“

“Umm...“ Tony looked worried. “Surely not on my silken linens, I hope. At least not until you guys have been in a shower for at least a month.“ 

“You got silken linen?“ The Captain frowned.

“Who got silken linen?“ Clint asked from Tonys right side.

“I do.“, the billionaire said. The master assassin furrowed his brow but didn’t ask. Instead he yawned and nearly unhinged his jaw.

“No silk for me, I’m allergic.“, he said and half-smiled. “Just kidding, will sleep on anything soft enough...“

“Fury’s gonna be mad.“

“Not our problem, Cap. We saved New York, so that man has to let us catch some sleep. I mean, come on! He can’t call us all in now. As I said, we’re just going to call in sick tomorrow. After all we did today, nobody can seriously be angry with us.“

“Fury can.“ Natasha said.

“Well, yes. I don’t care, by the way. All I wanna do is get some sleep and a shower. Maybe the other way round, but still.“

They walked in silence the whole way to the former STARK Tower, now just the A Tower. When the automatic doors opened and the light was switched on, JARVIS greeted them: _Sir, Agent Romanov, Agent Barton, Captain Rogers, Doctor Banner, Thor. It’s a pleasure meeting you._

Steve jumped backwards and crashed into Clint. The super-soldier looked scared out of his wits.

“Stark, what is that?!“, he asked, terrified.

Tony boxed him on the arm.

“An AI, stupid. His name’s JARVIS, he’s my sort-of butler or something. No need getting afraid, he won’t harm you, you can speak with him, ask him things, you know? Oh, and: Welcome to the 21st century.“ With that, he headed off to the elevator.

“You comin‘?“, he asked.

In the elevator, Tony chose the 73rd floor and went on talking with his pet AI. “So, JARVIS, tell me: what does it look like? I can’t show Pepper a half-destroyed tower, seriously. I mean, it’s her baby.“

_The biggest damage was done to the 86th floor, where the glass is shattered, the tiles are broken and also the walls have suffered damage. Also, the glass-fence is partially broken. The light-strips look bad, too, and the letters S, T, R and K have been ripped off. Apart from that, the main ARC-reactor is at 100% capacity, the labs are untouched._

“That’s... nice, I guess. Maybe Pepper won’t kill me after all.“

_I hope so, sir.,_ JARVIS answered.

When the elevator stopped and the doors opened with a light beep, the Captain nearly jumped again. Exactly thirty seconds after they had stepped outside the doors, Bruce remembered Thor. When he turned around, he found the God of Thunder sleeping on the floor, snoring softly.

“Just leave him there.“, Tony said. “Ain’t going to do heavy lifting right now. Just-“ He yawned. “you know, make yourselves comfortable, and JARVIS, I’d like to take this suit off.“

For a man who rarely or never had guests, Tony Stark did have a lot of spare rooms. Bruce and Steve were gone only seconds after he had told them to make themselves comfortable and Natasha and Clint stumbled across the floor to vanish behind another door, after looking at Thor in a should-we-pick-him-up-or-should-we-let-him-sleep-because-he-is-too-heavy-way. JARVIS was busy taking off Tonys suit, and after that was done, the genius also stumbled into his room and directly got into the shower, leaving a trail of dirty clothes.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Headcanon here: Clint is an absolute master assassin and really, really good at his job. He's also not a morning person, so he can be the clumsiest person on the planet...

They all slept until at least 1 PM. And oddly enough they all gathered in the kitchen.

Clint was first – he raided the cupboards and the fridge until he found cornflakes and milk. Since he was having the worst headache in his entire life, he wasn’t particularly fond of waking up at Stark’s after a night full of nightmares and being awake and staring into the darkness with Natasha breathing softly next to him.

When he managed to pour milk into a bowl and didn’t make a mess while trying to add the cornflakes, he placed himself up on the fridge. Just out of habit.

_Good morning, Agent Barton. You could as well sit down, and, since you look very tired, I would suggest drinking a coffee and maybe taking an aspirin._ JARVIS greeted him.

The master assassin nearly fell off the fridge and choked on his cornflakes.

“Stark, what the hell?!“, he managed to croak.

_I am JARVIS, Mr Starks virtual butler. You may remember Mr Stark introducing me to Captain Rogers last night._

“Yeah, whatever.“, the assassin muttered.

_I strongly recommend a coffee and an aspirin. How would you like your coffee?_

Clint massaged his temples. His day was on the right way to become horrible, he knew this.

“Black, no milk, no sugar, thank you.“

_You are welcome, Agent Barton._

“Know what? Just call me Clint, okay?“, he asked.

_Of course, Clint. It is a pleasure to meet you._

The coffee machine started on its own and beeped when it was finished. It even poured the coffee in a cup.

Slowly, in order to make no move that could possibly hurt, Clint climbed down the fridge and took his coffee. He inhaled the smell. Stark really has a great taste in coffee, he thought before climbing up to his newly-proclaimed nest and settled down with his breakfast.

Only seconds later, Steve and Bruce entered. 

The captain would have looked showered and clean and everything, weren’t it for his suit, which was still dirty. Also the doctor was wearing the things they had snatched from some store before getting the shawarma (and after giving Loki in the more or less loving hands of the SHIELD-agents).

Steve looked critically up to Clint.

“What exactly are you doing up there?“, he asked.“And also, where did you get the coffee?“ 

Instead of answering, the Hawkeye just pointed a finger towards the coffee machine.

“That thing... Stark’s butler... I don’t know, but it made it.“

_Good morning, Captain Rogers, Doctor Banner. Would you like some coffee?_

Just like he did the evening before, Steve jumped two meters back and glared at the ceiling.

“That’s pretty impressive, I think. It’s not that easy, programming an AI like that. But, no coffee for me, thanks. Captain, what about you?“ Bruce asked.

“Uhm... yes, a coffee would be lovely, I think. Sugar, no milk.“

_Of course, Captain._ answered the smooth voice of JARVIS. _Doctor Banner, would you maybe like a tea or something else to drink?_

“What do you have?“ The doctor wandered to the large window to look over the city. Manhattan didn’t look good, but it could have been worse. There were no fires to be seen, most buildings didn’t seem to collapse any second. But still, a lot of reparation was needed, and Bruce didn’t like thinking over who would pay for this.

_At the moment I have to admit I only have green tea, black tea, rooibos tea and different herb teas._

“I think a cup of green tea will do, thank you.“ He handed the Captain his coffee, who nearly spilled it when Natasha fell down from the ceiling just in front of him. 

“Hi.“, she said. “No need getting jumpy, Cap’n. I just don’t like to enter a Stark room the normal way. There could be something aiming at me. Morning, by the way.“

_Good morning, Agent Romanov._ JARVIS greeted her.

Then she spotted Clint eating his cornflakes on top of the fridge. 

“Where did you get those from; I’m starving!“

He gestured towards the milk and the box he had left next to the sink. 

 

When they all had made themselves more or less comfortable (Natasha preferred to lean at to counter, just in case Tony Stark would come in and do something that required her immediate reaction), the self proclaimed damn awesome genius-billionaire-playboy-philanthrophist god-like human being good-looking etc. himself came through the door, making a beeline for the fridge. 

“JARVIS, where _the hell_ is the milk and where are my cornflakes?“, he asked, sounding both sleepy and angry.

_I believe they are on the counter next to you, where Agent Barton left them, sir. Do you want coffee?_

“Oh.“ Tony seemed quite surprised by the bunch of people hanging around in his kitchen.

“Morning, everybody. Yeah, coffee’d be cool. Barton, get off my fridge. Cap, you need something new to wear. Tasha... uuhh, just fine. No coffee, doc?“

“No, thank you, I am fine.“ The doctor half-smiled.

“Well, then.“ Tony reached up to one cupboard to take his Iron Man bowl out. It was very nice red and gold, consisted of solid titanium-gold alloy with a painted ARC reactor on it. Just like his suit. Also, it could contain about two liters of whatever and was thus Tony’s favorite.

_Sir, Miss Potts is about to get off the elevator in approximately one minute. From her heart rate, her face and her brain activity I can tell that she is quite stressed._ JARVIS announced.

If anybody ever thought they would know the Tony-Stark- _oh-shit-I-am-so-screwed_ -face, they now knew they didn’t until this moment. He even dropped his Iron Man-bowl.

The second he had picked it up, a very angry co-CEO of Stark Industries had rushed into the room and started yelling even before she had located him.

“ANTHONY STARK!! WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU _THINKING?!?!_ YOU COULD HAVE DIED!! I WAS ON THE PLANE AND I STARTED WATCHING TV AND GUESS WHAT?! THERE WAS AN ALIEN ATTACK LAUCHED IN _MANHATTAN_ AND THE FIRST THING THE REPORTER SAYS WAS THAT YOU WERE _THERE, FIGHTING_ ALIENS, FOR GOD’S SAKE!! AND YOU DIDN’T EVEN CALL ME TO TELL ME YOU WERE GOING ON SUCH A STUPID MISSION AGAIN, AND THEN THE REPORTER SAYS THERE IS A _NUCLEAR MISSILE_ HEADING FOR THE CITY AND _I SAW YOU TAKING IT_ AND _YOU FLEW WITH THE THING TO THE TOWER,_ WHERE A LASER WAS OPENING A _PORTAL_ WITH _ALIENS_ COMING THROUGH IT AND YOU TOOK THIS _FUCKING NUKLEAR MISSILE_ AND WENT STRAIGHT TO THE PORTAL AND YOU _EVEN HAD THE BALLS TO CALL ME JUST THEN_ AND NEXT THING I SEE IS THE PORTAL _VANISHED_ , YOU _GONE_ , AND MY PHONE SAID I HAD _ONE FUCKING MISSED CALL FROM FUCKING YOU!!_ DON’T YOU NEVER, EVER DARE TRYING SOMETHING LIKE THIS AGAIN!! WHAT WERE YOU _THINKING?!!_ YOU COULD HAVE DIED!!“

She stopped to take a breath. Tony used this small break to explain the whole situation.

“Look, Pep, it’s not as bad as-“

“IT IS NOT AS BAD AS IT LOOKS?! I DIDN’T KNOW WHETHER YOU WERE DEAD OR ALIVE, YOU DIDN’T EVEN ANSWER _YOUR FUCKING STARKPHONE_ YOU ARE SO PROUD OF!! I GOT THE PILOT FLY OVERTIME, HE NEARLY CRASHED THE PLANE, HAPPY TOOK ME HERE IN RECORD TIME, AND ALL THE TIME I WAS TRYING TO REACH YOU AND YOU WERE NOT ANSWERING YOUR _FUCKING PHONE_ –“

Tony raised both hands. “Look, I was tired and fell asleep as soon as I stepped outside the shower, and-“

“DON’T YOU DARE TO USE THIS AS AN EXCUSE, ANTHONY STARK!! WHEN I GOT HERE, JARVIS DID NOT TELL ME YOU WERE ALIVE, AND THEN IN STEPPED INTO THE ELEVATOR, AND WHEN I FINALLY WAS IN THIS FLOOR, I STEP OUTSIDE AND THE FIRST THING I SEE IS _A MAN LOOKING LIKE SOME CRAZY HOMELESS WANNABE-SUPERHERO WITH A MAJOR MULTIPLE PERSONALITY DISORDER IN FULL ARMOR AND WITH A HAMMER SLEEPING ON THE FLOOR_ AND THEN I GO INTO THE KITCHEN AND _THERE IS SOMEBODY SITTING ON THE FRIDGE!!!“_

The silence didn’t last long. Clint, clearly terrified by the woman, quickly climbed down, not without smashing some cups and nearly crashing into the coffee machine.

“I-i-i... I’m s-sorry. Really sorry. Totally sorry, I mean. And ... really sorry. Sorry. I’m sorry. Really, I mean it. Sorry. So sorry. Ma’am, I’m sorry. I will never sit on that fridge again. I-i-i promise I’ll worship it a-and, um, I could polish it every hour, or... umm-“

“Clint!“, Natasha hissed and made a let’s-better-go-outside-for-a-moment movement with her head.

But Pepper snapped her fingers. “No. You two ain’t going anywhere before I have a proper explanation.“

“Sure!“, Natasha smiled politely, but everybody could see just how terrified she was.

“So, Anthony? Who are these people?“

Tony hugged his Iron Man bowl.

“What is this noise to such an early hour?“ Thor asked loudly and walked right into the kitchen. He was only a moment surprised at the sight of Pepper and then smiled.

“You must be the wonderful Lady Pepper. The Metal Man’s wonderful Magic Voice, Sir JARVIS, told me about your arrival. I am glad to have my brother-in-arms fate in the hands of such a enchanting and strong woman, one of the kind that is rare in this realm and every other one I know. I am thoroughly pleased to meet you, Lady Pepper.“ He bowed and _kissed her hand._

Pepper seemed to be totally shocked, Steve and the other Avengers still looked very terrified, and Tony wasn’t even terrified anymore, he started thinking about how long and painful his and Thor’s death was going to be.

“Uh-hu... thank you, I guess. But, who are _you_?“

“I am called Thor Odinson.“

Tony used this moment to intervene. “Look, Pepper, it is like this. Agent Coulson from SHIELD... he came to get me. Because Fury wanted to save the world. Because Loki stole the Tesseract and because we are all superheroes, and Loki wanted to rule the world, but he needed the Chitauri army for this, but we imprisoned him in Stuttgart, where I went to, and there I met the Cap and Natasha again, and then we flew to the Helicarrier, but Thor came, so we fought, and then the Helicarrier exploded and engine 3 was damaged, so Cap and I went to okay it, and but the Hulk and Thor fought, which is why Agent Coulson died, and Thor was in the Hulk-booth, and then Natasha fought with Clint, and the engine 1 stopped working, and then Thor and the Hulk – Doctor Banner, I mean, were gone, and Loki also, so we went to Manhattan, but Selvig had the portal already opened, and the Chitauri and the Leviathan came, but Natasha managed to close the portal, and then we went eating shawarma, because I wanted to, and... yeah...“Tony got more and more silent towards the end.

Pepper took a deep breath. “Okay.“, she said. “First... JARVIS, coffee, please.“

_Of course, Miss Potts. I assume you want one as usual?_

“Yes, thank you. Next, Tony, I’d like you to introduce me to all this people, then I want to know the story in a chronological order, and after that I want to know why the Tower looks like ... _this_.“

She took her cup of coffee. “So?“

Tony winced due to her cold voice. “Okay... so, we are the Avengers. So, ‘there was an idea to bring together a group of remarkable people, so that when we needed them, they could fight the battles the we never could.‘ This is what Director Fury from SHIELD said, and... umm, so that are we. It is called ‘The Avengers Initiative‘, and since SHIELD has an eye on everything, when they discovered that the world was endangered, Director Fury managed to assemble us on his Helicarrier. This is... like an air-craft carrier, but it can fly. Yeah, I know how that sounds. And... the problem was, we didn’t work well together, but the world needed us. Because, SHIELD found this cube, together with the Captain, in the ice. They started researching it, but unfortunately they couldn’t control it. Which is how Loki, Thor’s brother, also a god, came here, stole the Tesseract and took Dr. Selvig, who researched the cube, and Hawkeye with him. And when we were all on the Helicarrier and had Loki imprisoned, it was attacked. So the Cap and I went out to repair the damage, but we lost Thor, Bruce and Loki during the attack but at least got Hawkeye back. Also, Agent Coulson died“ Tony ignored the shocked look on Pepper’s face and went on: “Then we again assembled in here, in New York and managed to bring down a couple of Chitauri and at least three Leviathan. We also captured Loki and got the Tesseract back, so everything is quite fine now. As to the introduction: You already know Thor, then this is Captain Steve Rogers, this is Doctor Bruce Banner and... be surprised... this is Natalie Rushman. Actually, she is named the Black Widow, or Natasha Romanov. She and Hawkeye – Clint Barton – are SHIELD agents.“

Pepper nodded slowly. “Nice meeting you.“

The awkward silence that followed was disturbed by JARVIS.

_Sir, I must inform you that the_ ‘A‘ _seems as if it may fall down any time now. Unfortunately, neither of your suits are not entirely repaired, so none of them is able to fly for more than five minutes. Due to how the_ ‘A‘ _is hanging there, you will not be able to repair it in less than five minutes._

Tony pulled a face. “Okay.“ he said. “I guess it’s okay, I’ll repair it la-“

He was interrupted by Nick Fury showing up on one part of the big window, which also was a monitor. The director didn’t look amused.

“I sent a quinjet to get you. It will land on your roof, Stark, and I’ll await the ‘Avengers‘ in my office. We have a few things to go through, for example _where the hell you went after the battle_. And no, I’m not going to argue with you, Stark.“

The screen went blank and disappeared.

“How do we even get to the roof?“ Bruce looked troubled.

Tony gently put his bowl back and looked at Pepper. She was still angry, he could see it.

“Um, Pep?“

She ignored him.

“Pepper?“

Still no reaction.

“Miss Potts?“ he tried.

“Seriously, Tony, just _go_!“ Her voice was shaken.

They started moving towards the door – most of them glad to escape, when she suddenly leaped to her feet and ran towards Tony. Pepper put her arms around him, pressed her face to his shoulder and started sobbing. He responded with a soft embrace.

Bruce motioned the others to get out and leave the couple alone.

Tony stroke her hair. He hadn’t meant to make her cry, but he also didn’t know how to make her stop.

“Tony, y-you could have died.“

Said man softly kissed the strawberry blonde’s hair.

“Pepper, I-“

“Don’t. Just don’t.“

He pulled her closer, feeling his shoulder getting wet from her tears.

“I mean“ she continued. “Does your life mean nothing for you?“

“Pep, all these people... we fought for them. And this missile... it would have undone everything. It was the only chance all these people had. And... see, if I had died, at least the people could live...“

“Tony, since when is it your style to die for people you don’t even know?“

“I guess it started in Afghanistan. And, after I met Cap... you know, when I was little, he was my hero. I always wanted to be like him. But I changed and sort-of forgot him, and then he stood in front of me and asked me what I was, without my suit. And I said I was a genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist, and he said, there were guys with nothing of that, and they were worth ten me. So I started to think about it, and I guess that’s why I did it. Because I wanted to prove worthy.“

Pepper raised her head. Her eyes were still red from the crying, but she smiled and kissed him gently.

“Just... promise me you will never do it again.“ she whispered.

But he shook his head. “I can’t promise that.“

“Then, be careful.“

Tony nodded and she pushed him away, eyes still red.

“Go.“ she said. “I believe you have a meeting, right?“

He nodded again and slowly went towards the door.

“Oh, and, Tony?“ she called.

He turned around.

“Your friends, will they stay?“

“Well, I guess that is up to director Fury, but I think, yes. Why?“

“Because I will cook, I think. Like, um, Italian? Just spaghetti bolognese.“

“Because you know I would do anything for spaghetti bolognese made by you?“

“No, because you deserve it.“

He brightened. “That’s good, because then I have an excuse for driving Fury into madness.“

With that he vanished and left a smiling Pepper.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pepper is a badass, in my opinion, but I think she's pretty OOC here. Tell me what you think!


	3. Chapter 3

The quinjet had been waiting for him, and Fury on the comm. line got more and more impatient and started yelling at Hill, the pilot, Clint, Hill, a ‘baby agent‘ named Duff, Clint, the pilot, Natasha, Thor, Hill, another ‘baby agent‘, Clint, Steve and the pilot. The director was visible on a small screen that was not usually in the cockpit. Which is why this was the first thing Tony noticed as he stepped aboard.

“Good morning, director.“ he said happily and smiled at the man, who looked as if he would explode every minute.

“Just... get... here.“ the director groaned.

The jet took off and flew in record time towards the Helicarrier. It was located at the bay, some three miles away from the shore. And as always, it was busy with pilots, agents, techs and a bunch of other people.

 

Fury was sitting in his office, brooding over some files and looking really _fury_ ous. Tony giggled lightly upon this insight. He stopped it when he saw the glare the director was shooting at him with his one eye, but he was still feeling very light and happy and totally like he had some bubbles – maybe soap bubbles – inside his stomach (maybe because Pepper wasn’t that angry anymore). Overall, he _was_ feeling like he could just start to float. Promptly, he continued thinking about that. How the others would look like if he started floating. How maybe Fury would try to shoot him to get him down. How Clint might manage to tie a rope around Tonys ankles to pull him down.

And the genius giggled again.

Which caused Fury to explode.

The next ten minutes were filled with Fury shouting at him and Tony wanting to roll around in laughter. It was hard, but he managed to keep his poker face up.

And then the lecture started. 

Clint somehow got himself a cup of coffee, the doctor seemed to were somewhere entirely different with his thoughts, Natasha had started to dismantle and reassemble her guns, Thor looked out of the window, seeming very happy, Tony himself started playing with his watch, poking Clint, trying to get Bruce’s attention and trying not to giggle.

The only one who really seemed to listen was Steve. And it was impressive! The young super-soldier (who, if Tony thought over it, could be maximal twenty-three years old) looked interested, serious, totally understanding Fury and also totally agreeing with the director. He looked like a priest might if someone read the bible to him. He even _nodded_ sometimes. 

And then Fury made a break, and suddenly they were all awaken again. The man had asked a question, and they were supposed to answer. 

“No, I totally agree with you, director. The safety of our people _must_ stand above everything else. I suggest we let not more than another day pass, and then all the ‘Avengers‘ will call in a press conference. Because the world needs to know that we totally agreeing with what we’ve done.“ Steve said.

The director nodded. 

“Then there is another sort-of problem. It is about you, Captain Rogers. I know that you are most of the time OK with the SHIELD quarters, but you have to get back to the world.“

The captain allowed himself to pull a face.

“I know you don’t like it and would probably be happier if I let you living this way. But still – we have to present the press a bunch of totally normal people. More or less totally normal, I mean, we can’t change the fact that Stark will always be Stark, but you can’t hide all the time, Rogers.“ Fury appeared to think a moment.

“Most of you probably won’t like it, but... the Stark-Tower has been a very important building in this battle, and since it now says ‘A Tower‘... I’d like to make it the HQ of the Avengers. You don’t need to live there, but I think I would appreciate it.“

“Wait!“ Tony interrupted. “Why does nobody ask me before I have to give my tower away?“

“You don’t have to give it away, you can reinstall the other letters ‘till it says ‘STARK Tower‘ again, but I’d like a place for the Avengers. Also, it’s good for your face in the public. It shows that the Avengers are a team. And as for Captain Rogers... I’d like you to move in there. Barton, Romanov: you two have the choice. You can of course live wherever you want to. Doctor Banner – since you are a scientist, you might just get to work with Mr Stark. And since there is enough place, you probably won’t get in each others way that much.“

“Hey, he’s right, you know?“ Tony said suddenly, sounding very happy.

“I have loads of floors that are empty. We will make at least one floor the training floor. And I’ll make a biiiiiiiiig lab with everything you can think of, Bruce. And, you know, just for safety, we’ll install a Hulk-proof booth. And we could make movie evenings every weekend. And I’m sure we can make a Thor-proof place, and we can eat spaghetti twice a week, and then we could make karaoke evenings, or we could build a swimming pool, like in my villa in Malibu! That’s going to be great.“

Strangely enough, the Avengers started to nod. Everyone, except Clint and Thor. Clint, because he passed out next to his coffee cup, furrowing his brow and muttering while sleeping, and Thor, because he was busy looking very serious.

“I believe“ the god started. “that it would be best if Loki faced Asgardian justice as soon as possible and that the Tesseract is returned to its magical chamber in my realm. Since I know that we“ he made a movement that included all the Avengers. “have brought severe damage to your dwellings here, I would be willing to mend the biggest damage in exchange for a favor.“

“Well“ somehow Fury managed to look amused. “I do not think that it is possible to fix an entire city just as that, and still. Even if you would be able to do this, I would like to know what the favor is, before I give you the Tesseract and Loki. I know it is best if he faces Asgardian justice, and I know it is best if the Tesseract is out of our reach, _but_ that depends on what the favor you are asking me to do is.“

Thor smiled. “My father once said: ‘Its power has no equal. It’s a weapon to destroy or a tool to build.‘ He was talking about Mjölnir. And it has proven to be the truth. I can both destroy and re-build. Surely I can not hope to renew the whole of your city, but I can make most parts of the buildings and the roads secure again.“

“Sounds great.“ Natasha said. “But, what could an Asgardian like you ask as a favor? I mean, you’re basically a god.“

“I know that you have the ability to send and receive messages with a spell called ‘internet‘. And thus I would ask to be allowed to send a message to Lady Jane.“

Tony snorted. “It’s called e-mail, big fella. And it’s no magic, it’s science. Also, you could just call her!“

But Thor shook his head. “The son of Coul said she went to a remote island somewhere in a stormy sea. I’m afraid she would not be able to hear me over the storm.“

Now it was Natasha’s turn to grin a creepy Natasha grin. “Thor, when you phone somebody... they can hear you, because they are inside.“

“No. I must not try to escape my duties as a warrior, which now are to return the Tesseract and Loki to Asgard. Hearing her voice might lead to me abandoning my duties and returning to her. This would not serve the task I have dared to lie upon me, the one in which the son of Coul was my first ally with, the one in which we all are allies now: the protection of this realm from anything that might harm it. And since my brother tried to harm this realm, I must immediately dislodge him so that nothing threatens Earth for a while.“

After Thor had finished, they all had to think a moment before they understood him.

“Alright.“ Fury nodded. “You shall have your e-mail.“

The director started tapping on one of the screens and then turned it to Thor.

“This is the keyboard. Any letter you tap will appear in the message. When you are finished, you tap this button and she will receive your message the moment she checks her in-box next.“

This task kept Thor occupied for the next couple of minutes, so Fury turned back to them.

“So, I summarize: next morning, you will call in a press conference – we’ll talk about that later. You need to select a leader and a deputy. Then I take it as granted that you all – more or less – move into STARK tower. I don’t give a damn about what you do with all the floors. The only thing I want is everyone carrying a phone, I don’t care whether it’s a Starkphone or a Nokia. I just want you to always have it turned on so I will always be able to reach you. In case of an emergency and without orders where to assemble, I want all of you to assemble in the 86th floor of the tower. Then I want everybody to have an e-mail-address. Next, I want you to introduce Captain Rogers and Thor, when he has returned, to modern technology. I also – 

_would like somebody to kick Bartons ass_!“

Clint, who still had his head on the table, startled at the sound of his name. He looked around, ignored Fury’s angry glare and went on sleeping.

“One last thing: If I call you to assemble, you assemble. No matter whats going on, you assemble. Understood?“

They nodded. All, except Thor, who was busy writing his e-mail.

“After I spoke with the council, I will also be able to tell you what you will be paid. There will be a normal monthly salary, and there will be a bonus for the missions you fight. The bonus will depend on how hard it was, whether you were injured, et cetera. And, of course, you will have to appear in public sometimes.“

Tony grinned. “Yeah, I will start donating money to children’s hospitals, the WWF, the UNO, the children’s cancer center... stuff like that. I think I will open up an orphanage, that will be fun.“

Natasha shot him an angry glance, silencing him.

Thor rejoined their discussion. “When should I start?“ he asked.

Fury glanced over to a digital clock. “How long will it take?“ he gave back.

“It might take two hours.“ the God of Thunder answered.

“Okay, then... start now. You need some special place?“

“I will fly.“ And with that the god disappeared.

The director made some quick calls, briefing the teams SHIELD had in New York searching for survivors.

“How many died?“ Steve managed to pop the question he had wanted to ask all the time.

“We are not sure yet. We have around one thousand fivehundred still missing, and right now we found threehundred fifty-six dead. Some twohundred have been located unter a building, and we are working to get the debris off them. Then we are locating some calls we got from people that are also trapped. I think we will have the final count of the dead tomorrow morning.“

“I would like to help.“ Bruce said. “I mean... during the battle, I most of the time was a bit in charge of... the Other Guy.“

“I’d like to do something, too.“ Steve said quietly.

“Well, the thing is... we need some machines, but I don’t get the council to confiscating dredgers and cranes. And I am not allowed to take money I by the way don’t have to rent machines.“

“No, you got no money.“ Tony said. “But I do. How many do you need? And maybe if you have some crane-planes? You know, like they have a grappler... Since I am suit-less right now, I can’t really lift things, but I could use a crane.“

“I’ll take a quinjet.“ Natasha said lightly. “And, director Fury, if you don’t mind, I’d like to leave Clint here, he hasn’t slept in at least 48 hours.“

Tony was already on his phone, calling different machinery hiring companies.

“My name’s Tony Stark, I’d like to rent every dredger and crane you have, together with an operator. Yeah. To Manhattan, please. Whoever gives orders there, they are to be obeyed. I’ll pay. No, I don’t know how long. Yes. Thank you.“

Fury just called a pilot in. “Okay, you take Doctor Banner and Captain Rogers and bring them directly into the city. Agent Romanov, you take another jet. And take Stark with you.“

He established a comm. line to the guy coordinating the rescue teams. “Peters, you’ll get cranes and dredgers coming in, paid by Stark. Also, I’m sending some jets, the Hulk, Rogers and Stark. Let ‘em help you. And let the Hulk lift the heavy debris. Banner, should Rogers stay with you, maybe, to give you orders? Okay, Rogers will stay with the Hulk. Do you copy me, Peters?“

Natasha grabbed Tonys wrist and pulled him off and the other two followed the pilot.

Fury went on talking to various agents and pilots, Tony was still busy with hiring the machinery.

“I’m Tony Stark, I want you to bring every dredger and crane you have to Manhattan city, together with an operator. How long? Couple of days, I don’t know. There will be agents giving orders, they’re from an agency called SHIELD. Just obey the orders, I’ll pay when it’s all over. Yeah, goodbye.“

Natasha strapped herself into the pilots seat.

“Romanov, I want you to report every thirty minutes. Don’t just clean up, but also pull up and observe.“ came Fury’'s voice over the comm. line. “Stay in touch with Peters and me. If I’m not available, call Hill. Have an eye on the Avengers, especially the Hulk. Do you copy me?“

“I copy.“ she answered and started the engine.

“Stark, how many machinery do you have by now?“

“Doesn’t look good. There are many fixed cranes who have to be build up. The movable cranes are around thirty-two by now, and we have fifty-one dredgers.“

“I’ll tell Peters to count where they could need fixed cranes. Anything else?“

“It will be difficult to take the machinery where we need it. They will have to make way.“ Natasha said.

Fury switched the comm. line for a moment. Then he returned.

“I told Peters to do so. He said the meeting point will be 27th Avenue, the roads are ok, I think. Stark, would you broadcast?“

“Am on it, director. Romanov, you let me down there?“

“Sure.“ the redhead answered.

 

As they flew over what was left of Manhattan, Steve and Bruce were terrified. From the view of the tower it hadn’t looked that bad, but now it seemed like there had been a major earth quake, a civil war, a tornado and a meteor strike together.

“Didn’t look that bad yesterday, huh?“ Bruce said and the Captain nodded.

“I just hope...“ he cleared his throat. “I hope that not too many people died.“

Their comm. line buzzed and Fury’s voice appeared: “Thor returned, he can’t do anything else now, he’s pretty exhausted. This is on you now. Over.“

 

The rescue teams hadn’t had a break since they started (which was immediately after the battle), but the men and women still cheered everytime a new survivor saw the light of the day. The NYPD was there, the ambulance, the fire department, there were paramedics who wrapped the survivors in blankets and handed them water.

Steve stayed at Bruce’s side. After the doctor had morphed into the Hulk, he was given really simple orders: “Hulk, LIFT!“ or “Hulk, STOP!“ or even more complicated ones: “Hulk, take THIS ONE!“. But it worked. And that was all they could ask for. 

The machinery hired by Tony had at first experienced some difficulties. They had met Peters and Tony and a bunch of SHIELD-agents at the 27th Avenue. It didn’t look impressive, even after they had found the agents and Tony. But then he had played with a whole lot of 100$ bills while talking about things like ‘You have to help rescuing the people trapped here, of course you are going to be paid like you’ve worked overtime all the time...‘. It was very funny how motivated the men were and how easily they obeyed the orders after that. 

There were six fixed cranes set up, the movable cranes were around forty, and there were amazing sixty-nine dredgers, all working side-by-side with the agents and the Hulk.

 

Tony had called Pepper to cancel their dinner. They had all agreed to go on working, even if it was going dark by now. He fixed this by applying giant flood lights wherever he could put them. The machinery was having some, they were placed on strategic points on the streets and sometimes even on top of the houses. SHIELD jets were flying over them, along with helicopters, all for the simple purpose to enlighten the critical points. Miles of cables were assembled, most of them leading to the ARC Reactor of the STARK Tower. And Tony was still talking on his phone, calling companies who had big flood lights. Cars that were still working were forced open so their lights could also be used.

It was incredible. 

People – normal citizens – came by to bring blankets, to let people stay at their houses, to bring food, to help. There were some twelve-year-olds who brought their flashlights. Some five people actually came with their dogs to make them also search for survivors.

It was crazy, thought Steve. Some guy handed him the leash of a german shepherd. He lost the Hulk while the dog and he climbed over the debris. His eyes were wide and then the dog barked. Sniffed and barked again. Then it started to dig. Steve shushed the dog, gave it a treat and a pat on the back, like he was told. And then he could hear the voice under the stones.

“Help! Does anybody hear me? Help!!“

“I hear you!“, Steve shouted back and told the dog to sit.

He looked around him. Only persons could get where he was. A machine may let some gaps collapse and there might be other people. Also the Hulk should better not cross the debris. So he started digging. The dog jumped to its feet and scratched some of the smaller stones away.

It was hard. Most of the stones were big, heavy ones, but the super soldier serum had to be good for something, right? Many stones had tilted so that they were linked up with other ones. But finally – there was a hole and he could see frightened faces. Two, at least.

“How many are you?“ he shouted, pulling an extra heavy stone.

“Three.“ the girl who answered him looked as if she was barely fourteen. She had tears streaming down her face. 

The hole was big enough to pull even the Captain himself through, but he couldn’t reach her without falling.

Muttering curses under his breath, Steve looked around. He needed some kind of a rope. His gaze fell to the leash of the dog.

“Good dog.“ he said, taking the leash off the collar, giving the dog another pat.

It was a police dog, and thus it was not only equipped with shoes, but also with an extra-strong leash. At least he hoped so when he lowered his improvised rope down to the trapped.

“Little ones first.“ he said. “Just tie it round the waist – really strong – and I’ll lift you up.“

First came a small boy, maybe three years old. Steve told him to sit next to the dog (“It’s a very nice dog, you can pat it if you want to.“) and then went on to lift a six-year-old girl through the hole. She was sobbing and asking for her mother. 

“Shhh... everything is okay, your mother is safe, she’s waiting for you. I’ll just get your sister, right? Then we’ll go see your mummy.“

But the fourteen-year-old girl shook her head. “No way you will be able to lift me.“

She sobbed silently and Steve smiled friendly.

“Of course I can lift you. I’m a soldier, I can lift everybody.“

And then the earth began to shake. Terrified, Steve looked around him.

“Just grab the rope, will you? We have to get out of here.“

She obeyed, and then the earth shook again. The Captain attached the leash to the collar of the dog.

“Can you walk?“ he asked the older girl. She nodded slowly.

“Good. Then you take the dog, and I’ll take your sister and your brother, okay?“

His communicator buzzed. 

“Just some small quakes, they’ll be over in five minutes. Everybody stay off the debris until I give all-clear. Rogers, tell the Hulk to stop.“ Fury told them.

Steve managed to reply. “Sir, I’m on the debris with three survivors and a dog. Someone else must stop the Hulk!“

Static. Then: “Got it. Peters managed to do it. I think he is ok. And get off the debris.“

“Copy. Am going as fast as possible. Over.“

“We have to hurry up.“, Steve told the girl. 

They could not run, but they started moving faster.

 

When they finally were within the others, Steve left the children to the paramedics and patted the dog.

“Never cut the wire, always lay down on it and let the others crawl over you, huh?“ a familiar voice asked from behind.

Steve turned around just to find a quite dirty and exhausted Tony grinning at him. 

“What would you have done?“ he asked, gladly taking the bottle of water the shorter man handed him.

“That was no criticism.“ Tony commented. “It sounded just like you.“

Another earthquake rumbled beneath them.

“About the trainingsfloor, you know... what kind of things do you need? I thought of a flight simulator, a box ring, some punching bags, treadmills... targets for Clint and Natasha... you got some ideas?“

Steve nodded slowly. “A show-jumping course would be cool, I think. Something to pump iron... a climbing-wall maybe. And you said something about a swimming pool. I’d like that.“

“Okay, go on.“ Fury’s voice appeared over the static in their comm. lines again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading :) Tell me what you think!


	4. Chapter 4

_Eighteen hours later_

The Avengers were sitting in Tony’s kitchen talking to an exhausted Director Fury. They all looked like crap and certainly smelled like it. Bruce was wearing some of Tonys things which didn’t fit him. Clint, who had joined them some time later, looked even crappier than the others: he hadn’t really slept and was haunted by nightmares. But still: he had insisted on coming to the city and helping.

Thor had tried to fix buildings as often as possible, the Captain had been nearly everywhere, Natasha had kept an eye on everything and also operated a crane-plane (which was just some quick putting-together of things that might work as a crane and attaching them to a plane), and Tony had also been everywhere, phoning people, buying large amounts of food, helping, getting even more stuff and experiencing for the first time what his money was good for.

Needless to say, they were totally done. Fury was also, but this talk was necessary.

“So. First: the ‘Avengers’ need a leader and a deputy. Second: what will you tell the press? I’ve already called a press conference, it’ll take place in ten hours. Till then, you should fetch some sleep. Also, Thor will return to Asgard, together with Loki and the Tesseract. Any questions?“

The audience remained silent.

“Ok. Then, a leader. Anybody who really wants to?“

Still silence. Then: “Y’ know, Cap would make a great leader. He’s got the rank, he’s got the heart, and he’s proven he knows how to handle people.“ Tony said.

“I’ve hoped someone would say this. Any different opinions? ...No? Okay, Captain, do you accept?“

“Being a leader, what does it involve?“ the super soldier asked. He didn’t feel like one, though. 

“You are the official. If there’s a press conference, you will be the one to open it. Also, you are the direct superior of the Avengers. I am your superior, and I am subordinated only to the President of the United States himself. Also, you have to cross-check the reports your fellow-Avengers will write. Oh, by the way, everybody still owes me one for the battle. But I can wait. So, Captain, do you accept being the leader?“

Steve sighed, then nodded. “I guess, yes.“

“Very well. Is there somebody you would like as your second-in-command?“

“Ummm...“ Steve looked around and did a fast calculation. Thor would maybe be gone too often. Bruce... not a good idea, a second-in-command would have to take the lead if Steve was knocked out during a battle. Bruce couldn’t do it. Natasha... to be honest, she scared him. And Clint was too much the _I-do-my-own-way_ -type of guy. Which left... Tony.

Why not?, Steve thought. Tony is intelligent, he did the right thing when he took the nuke. And he was strong-headed, not willing to give up.

“If I may“ Thor said. “I think the best person for this kind of leadership would be Tony. I do not want to dishonor anybody, but-“

“No, it’s fine!“ Bruce, Clint and Natasha chorused. Then they looked over to Steve and Tony.

“Yes.“ Steve announced. “That’s what I was thinking.“

“So, Stark, do you accept?“ Fury asked.

The genius raised an eyebrow. “Why me, Capsicle? Thought you couldn’t stand me.“

“Because Thor will be away too much. He’s got two worlds to take care of. Bruce won’t be able to take my place in a battle. Clint is not the leadership-guy. He does things on his own or takes orders, not gives some. And Natasha... don’t be mad, it’s just-“ he sighed. “Seriously, you scare me. More than I like to admit, actually.“

Natasha chuckled. “Don’t worry, I’m not mad. I like scaring people, that’s my job.“

“And, Tony“ Cap went on. “I am fully aware of what I said on the Helicarrier. You are a pain in the ass, you are an idiot, you are egoistic, have too much self-confidence, but you know what you are doing. And you are doing it right. I think I’ll never grow to be able to stand your comments in a battle or your permanent sarcasm and your jokes that are _not_ funny, but that’s not what it is about. And if you call me ‘Capsicle’ one more time, I’ll let you know what _real_ pain is.“

Tony shrugged. “Sure thing, Cap.“

Steve rolled his eyes. “I got a name, you know.“

“Cut it out!“ Fury snapped. “The more time you waste getting at eachothers throats, the less time you can spend in your beds.“

They got silent at once.

“Well, okay. What are you going to tell the press?“

Steve thought about it for a moment. Then he said “The truth. If we conceal anything that comes to light later on, we’ll stand there with egg on our faces. I think, if we tell them the main facts, that will do the trick.“

Fury nodded. “Okay. The press conference is set to seven o’clock. Before that, I think, Thor should return to Asgard. It is not that I don’t want you at the conference, I just want the Tesseract and Loki gone as soon as possible.“

“I fully understand.“ the god said.

“Well, then... nighty night.“ the director wished and the screen became blank. 

Like if a button was pushed, every Avenger yawned.

“I’ll tell JARVIS to wake us at five thirty. Steve, I think some agent just brought some of your clothes. Sleep tight, all of you.“ Tony said and disappeared. The other Avengers retreated as well. 

 

When JARVIS enlightened the rooms at five twenty-five, Clint hadn’t slept a minute. Too vivid were the nightmares he’d had the other times he’d tried to sleep. Nightmares of killing agents, people he had known for ten years, maybe more. And the pictures of Natasha, how he was killing her or how he was telling Loki her deepest secrets. He had let her shower first. After she’d fallen into the bed, she didn’t even move anymore. The only sign telling him she was alive was her chest heaving slightly. He had showered for at least one hour, if not more. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to sleep, he simply couldn’t. Normally he could sleep anywhere Natasha could sleep, but this time it was different. It wasn’t because something in their relationship changed – they knew each other for at least five years now. They weren’t a couple or something – Coulson liked to annoy them (or everybody else) with little Natasha-Clint-songs, or via bugging him about when he would finally ask her out. Yeah. Coulson. He’d been the one who was backupping Clint when he hunted her down. He’d been the one to assure Clint he’d done the right thing, even when he got his ass kicked by Fury. Coulson had been the only other person next to Natasha whom Clint felt safe with while being on a mission. It wasn’t exactly friendship between the three of them, as a SHIELD agent you rarely developed friendship, but they felt safe with each other. And now there was a hole in their little triangle. Like they were a photo in an album, and someone had just ripped the Coulson-part out. Not someone. Loki. And it was Clint’s fault. It all was. If he had shot the god the moment he appeared in the chamber, all this wouldn’t have happened. Coulson would be alive, that german scientist would be alive, his security men would be. And the agents Clint killed. And the people that died in the Manhattan-battle.

“Hey.“ Natasha sat up and rubbed her eyes. When she saw Clints expression, she sighed. “Clint, you have done all you could. He is a god. You didn’t stand a chance.“

“I should at least have died trying.“

She shook her head. “If you had died trying, I wouldn’t have had that great pilot I had on the way to Manhattan. And I would have died, too. You saved my life a couple of times, y’ know, Barton? And if I hadn’t got you back, I’d never had the courage to go to Manhattan. And even if you knew what you were doing when you killed the agents, it was just your training kicking in, not you. Because you _are_ a trained assassin, but you are also Clint. Clint was unconcious, these were just your reflexes Loki used. And it’s not your fault. They have saved many people’s life before.“

He laughed bitterly. “That doesn’t stop the nightmares.“

She smiled softly. “I’ll ask some people I know, I’m sure they’ll be able to help you.“

 

They got out of bed, showered (some strange habit SHIELD spies or assassins develop after a time: shower as often as possible, you don’t know when you get to shower the next time.) and went into the kitchen. Natasha managed to stop Clint climbing on top of the fridge and made him choose the counter instead. Pepper was already there, reading the newspaper. When she got aware of Clint’s and Natasha’s presence, she wished them a ‘good morning‘ and tried to not to stare at Natasha. Finally, Pepper couldn’t stand it anymore.

“So you are really Natalie Rushman?“ she asked curiously.

Natasha smiled. “Yes, I am. I am sorry, but I was following orders. I never meant to intrude into your or Stark’s personal life.“

“No, it’s okay, it’s just... how come I didn’t notice?“

“Well, I’m a spy. And I’m the best. Spies are just actors, but the mortality rate is higher. Also, your professionality has to be higher, because a bad spy doesn’t live long. It takes a long preparation to get into a company as big as yours, and it takes a whole lot of faked papers. But... I think it was worth it. It was _finally_ an interesting job.“

Peppers glance shifted towards Clint who was fiddling with his mobile. She remembered the man sitting on top of her fridge when she first met him. But who was he?

Natasha noticed Pepper staring at Clint. “He’s my partner.“ she explained. “Most of the times. Would you mind not minding him? He’s not a morning person, and he didn’t sleep well the last couple of nights.“

“Your partner?“ Pepper asked. “Like... you’re in a relationship?“

“Well, no. More like we are a team of master assassins who work good together. We are not exactly friends, because we don’t have any spare time. We are 100% SHIELD agents and we don’t take any spare time, mostly. And... he’s been the guy who refused to shoot me and took me to SHIELD instead. After that we were either busy getting at eachother’s throats or fighting together. Not much time to build up an relationship, you know.“

“I don’t believe it!“ Tony said from the doorway. He went straight to the cupboard, ignored the dozing Clint, and took his Iron Man bowl.

 

They guarded Thor to the place he would leave, together with Loki. The god had been handcuffed and gagged.

The ceremony was short: Selvig carefully put the Tesseract in its container, Thor made Loki grab the other side of the container, they all stood back, Thor nodded them goodbye and then he and his brother vanished.

 

Tony glanced at his watch. 

“Okay, guys. We still got an hour left. I think you should grab some of your stuff, Cap. You two“ he nodded towards the assassins. “are going to put on your costumes. We’ll meet at 73rd floor in approximately half an hour. We’ll make a short briefing, then Happy’ll bring us to the conference hall. In full armor, of course.“

Natasha checked her phone. “Fury just texted me.“

She held the phone up so everybody could see the message: _will do a short introduction. will explain sth. people dont know shield so i tell somethings i think. council okd it. meeting afterwards in my office, will know your monthly salary by then. council didnt agree on how high the bonus for destroying manhattan will be. F._

“Okay.“ Tony said. “Hurry up, guys. Bruce, you come with me. Cap, try not to kill yourself in the 21st century traffic. I believe you two will be safe. Just don’t let Clint drive.“

Natasha had brought some of Bruce’s stuff, and she watched the two scientists drive away in Tonys cherry-black Acura NSX.

“I hate the color.“ she said. 

Clint shrugged. “You know, I don’t care about cars that much. If they work, fine. If they are fast, very good. That’s it.“

She boxed him into the shoulder.

“I know you are more the bike-person. Get moving, Hawkeye.“

“You know“ Clint looked after Steve, who had rode his motorcycle away. “a SHIELD custom-made Harley Davidson 2012 SOFTAIL SLIM-like bike is... pretty cool.“

“Yeah, maybe he’ll let you adore his bike later, now we have to get moving.“

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are contradictions everywhere it seems to me... and probably lots of spelling mistakes. If you find any (I'm really sorry if there are any), please tell me and I'll fix it immediately :)  
> As always, thank you for reading until here and tell me what you think!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is slightly angsty and possibly OOC on Nat's part...

The Thor-less Avengers had gathered behind the red curtain. Whoever thought of this, they were clearly trying to display the Avengers as heroic as possible. But currently Fury was walking towards the micro, so they had still some time left to gather themselves.

The director finally stood in front of the micro. It was on a high pult, like the four other ones. These were invisible, because there was only one spotlight. And it was directly pointed to Fury.

“My name is Nick Fury, I’m the director of a secret service called Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division. The acronym is SHIELD. I am the one who is directly responsible for the ‘Avengers Initiative‘, as we call it.“ He paused. “ ‘There was an idea to bring together a group of remarkable people, so that when we needed them, they could fight the battles we never could.‘ This is it. ‘The Avengers Initiative‘.“

Behind the director a monitor started a slideshow of pictures of the various Avengers, closeups, action shots.

“A battle we couldn’t fight was looming. So I started to call on the people I had chosen for this group. It was hard. We were at a total loss, because I had miscalculated: I had thought that everyone of them would have no edges, no character. I just saw them as a bunch of string puppets. When I realized my error, it seemed too late: too many agents had died, the world seemed to be at it’s end. Which was how the Avengers recovered, assembled, and went to Manhattan, New York. I can’t say they fulfilled my exspectations, because I had none. I had no idea what would happen. I must say I had lost hope. I did not know whether they would be strong enough to save an entire city. But they did. And I am grateful for that. So now, ladies and gentleman, I hope you will greet the Avengers together with me, as happy as I am to have this group of people around me.“

The audience started to cheer, and Tony gave Steve a little nudge.

“Show time, Cap. Just go, we’re behind you.“

He was nervous. He didn’t had his mask on, he didn’t even had his shield at hand. Steve took a deep breath and stepped towards the audience, his friends following. As the leader, he took the high desk in the middle. The two assassins chose to position themselves to his left, and Tony and Bruce were at his right. He adjusted the micro and cleared his throat.

“Ladies and gentleman, I declare the press conference as opened. We will answer all questions that do not interfere with our personal life. Also, we won’t be able to answer questions that are about classified information of SHIELD. And at first, I, well we all, would like to thank the man who brought us here. You just met director Fury, but I’m not talking about him. He brought us together, that’s right. But the man our spirit came from was somebody entirely different.“

Fury stood at the end of the large room and smiled his Fury-smile.

Steve swallowed at the lump that had formed in his throat. 

“His name was Agent Phil Coulson. He was a close friend of Natasha and Clint, he met Bruce, he watched over Tony some time, he met Thor. And also I, umm..., he asked me to sign his ‘Captain America‘-trading cards. I never got to do so. He died. Loki killed him. And this is why we are here today. Because we wanted to avenge Phil. But today it is not about me telling you something, but about you asking us. So go ahead.“

The woman they had met after the had been eating Shawarma raised her hand and Steve motioned her to talk.

“I’ve asked you this question before, on the battlefield: You had just won a battle, and still you looked as if you had lost. Why?“

The looked at each other.

“We had lost too much.“ Natasha said softly. “People had died because we weren’t fast enough. And everyone of us went through a lot of both physical and mental pain. And like Tony – Iron Man – said when you asked us that question: We all hadn’t slept for at least a day. This just really wears out. And running really high on adrenalin for a couple of hours is also quite exhausting.“

The next question came from an older man that had come all the way from Germany.

“Will the ‘Avengers‘ stay as some kind of a ‘last defense‘ weapon in the american defense system?“

“I guess...“ Steve answered, not wanting to give away real information. “We are still talking with our superiors. But, of course, we would only go on a mission if we are told to do so. And the only people that could tell us are either the director Fury or the President of the United States himself.“

“You said you got ‘superiors‘. But how can a normal human be in charge of a bunch of superheroes with super powers?“ the german reporter asked.

That was a delicate question. If they didn’t want to obey, there was no stopping them.

Then Tony spoke up: „You are basically right. If we don’t want to, you can hardly stop us. But it is a thing about respect and friendship. Something I – especially I – had to learn. Something Cap taught me. When we were in the SHIELD base that day he asked me what I was without my suit. My response – a genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist – didn’t impress him at all. He said that he knew people with nothing of that who were worth ten me. And although I don’t like to admit it... somewhere deep in me I started to think about it. And it hat an effect on me. The other thing I mentioned was respect. We Avengers hardly know each other. We simply don’t know each other long enough that there is a chance for actual friendship – apart from Clint and Natasha, who have know each other for what, ten years?“

“Seven.“ Clint stated. “And three months.“

“Did you celebrate? Well, what I was about to say: What unites us is not real friendship already, but respect. I respect every one of my fellow Avengers... yeah, it sounds strange when I say it, but it’s true. The other person I do indeed respect (another thing I don’t like to admit) is Director Fury. So what prevents us Avengers from taking over the world are our standards... and the fact that it is very hard to rule the entire world and you wouldn’t have time for fun things while playing dictator. But, uhm, I mean, every law in the US still applies on us. As far as it is possible, of course – if Bruce was to be electrocuted (I don’t wish it ever has to come this way), it simply would be impossible – but we are still rather normal citizens. We pay taxes, we respect the Traffic Code, stuff like that.“

“So the Avengers are no potential threat?“

“See, our leader wears the American flag, knows the national anthem by heart. He’s totally into America, no girl would stand a chance! You think he would have agreed to be our leader if we all would like to dictate the world when we are given even the slightest chance? And also we took him as a leader, because we agree with his view of the world. You know, he is such a patriot he fought for being allowed to become a soldier. If in such a small team anybody disagrees with the leader, the team will break apart. This is not what we want. And thus we can only work together, if our standards are the same. And they are. We want to protect the freedom. And since we are all american and live here, and the USA are _the_ land of freedom – I’d like to remind you of the Lady Liberty – we will do our best to ensure the safety of America.“

Interestingly enough the press swallowed this without any complaining.

After that they discussed for a while what really had happened, and then they came the question Clint secretly had waited for, even if he didn’t knew why.

“Where will the ‘Avengers’ live now? Will you stay together?“

And Clint started to grin. “Well, the Captain has moved in with Tony, and since Natasha told me what happenes if Bruce and Tony wind something scientific, and Natasha and I normally live in New York as well, I think we’ll stay together, somehow.“

“That means the ‘Avengers‘ have a head quarter of some sort?“

Tony snorted, sounding not very pleased. “No, there’s just a bunch of superheroes whose superior told them they could start living in _my_ tower.“

“You agreed!“ Natasha said.

“Yes, you even planned what you would do with the different floors!“ Bruce protested.

“I remember a trainingsfloor, a swimming pool, a lab for Bruce,a Hulk-proof cell, a Thor-proof place...“ Steve started complaining.

“Okay, okay!“ Tony raised defensively his hands. “I was only joking.“

“No.“ Natasha started teasing Tony as well. “Tony Stark jokes must be a more sarcasatic, asshole-lish, I’m-Tony-fucking-Stark way.“

“Narcissistic, also.“ Clint said.

“Okay, but surely, at least you, Bruce, would step in for my defense?“ Tony whined.

The doctor thought about it.

“Well, I remember you stabbing me, back in the lab of the Helicarrier...“

Was that possibly an evil grin on the shy doctor’s face?

“Yeah, but that was just fun!“ Tony wailed. “Bruce, why? I always supported you!“

“No, you didn’t, and yould you please clarify that later? We are at a news conference.“ Steve sounded slightly annoyed. “So, what we were about to say: Yes, we do have a HQ, it’s the Stark-tower. And we are only quarreling about what we will do with all the floors.“

“Well, I read that at least twenty floors of Stark-tower are simply empty, right, Stark?“ Natasha asked.

The genius nodded, still upset about Bruce not helping him.

“Actually, it’s twenty-seven floors completely empty, even without walls, and nine other ones with just rooms without furniture.“

“See. Enough place for all of us.“ the redhead smiled.

The questions after that were quite boring, and none of the Avengers spent that much time on them.

All in all the conference had lasted for about two hours. Happy took them back to the tower, and silently they assembled at 87th floor, where the Loki-shaped holes still reminded them of what they had won – or lost. Somehow, it seemed as though Coulson was with them, his ghost floating over them.

“Why’d y’ tell the press?“ Clint asked and looked over to the super soldier. It was clear he thought of Coulson.

The taller man – in fact, he was just as tall as Thor was, and because the demi-god wasn’t there, the Captain was the tallest – sighed and looked out of the window.

“Monsters.“ he said.

“I do not quite understand.“ Tony said. “No offense, but the only monster would be the Hulk, right?“

Bruce sighed and looked at his feet.

“See, none of us is normal, right?“

They all shook their heads. 

“I’ve heard it a lot, back in my time. _Monster_. What is a monster? Something inhuman. It neither looks like a human nor got feels like a human. But we do, right? We have feelings, we... to some extend all of us are humans. And... nothing proves better your humanity as grieving does. We do. But for most people, we are something they don’t understand. They are afraid. Of us. And giving them something sad, something that sounds like we are all very... fragile and easy to hurt.“

“So it was just tactics?“ Natasha asked, shocked.

“Most of it, yes.“

The redhead stood there, eyes wide. 

“I-i thought, you... you would also feel like... like _this!_ Phil was one of the most respected and loved agents, _everybody_ liked him! He was, yeah, he was crazy, sometimes, but he was a good man. He was the _best_! He was you biggest fan, and now you use him like... like a weapon...“ She was hurt. Agent Natasha ‘Black Widow’ Romanov was hurt.

“Tasha-“ Clint started, but she shushed him.

“You know, he _believed_ in us. He was there, all the time, collecting us like his precious Captain America trading cards. After he’d added Bruce and Tony to his collection, he sat there on the meeting table at the Helicarrier, and I remember how he looked at these cards. And then he said: ‘Imagine _he_ was on the team. Just imagine. We could have Captain America, and he’d fight for us. He’d take the lead in the battles, he’d represent the whole of America.‘ “ Natashas eyes started to fill with tears, a sight that hadn’t even be granted to Clint. 

“When we found you in the ice, he was happier than a three-year old at Christmas. And now, you-you...“

She spun around and ran out of the room, towards the fire escape. Steve stood there, paralysed. Then he looked towards the other Avengers who stood all opposite from him. And the great Captain America looked to all the world like a malnourished puppy someone had kicked really hard. “I-“ he tried, but his voice failed him.

“I’ll get her.“ Clint said and followed the redhead, leaving Steve even more miserably. 

Tony shook his head and punched the Captain in the shoulder. 

“I see what you’re getting at. She hasn’t been layed for a couple of weeks, I guess. Nothin’ too serious, just some hormones running wild. That’s common with women, you know.“

Steve hung his head. “I do respect Agent Coulson. It was just... I had nothing else to give them. And so I gave him away. I... it’s wrong. I should have known that. I don’t want to excuse myself, I-“

“Hey, cut it out. It’s okay, don’t worry, will you?“ Tony said impatiently.

“I’d rather like it if we’d think about the floors. So, Bruce, Cap, sit down.“

The billionaire pulled up a screen. “So, what I thought is...“

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!  
> Tell me what you think about Natasha in this chapter? :/ I don't really like it to be honest...


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case you've read this fic on ff.net, be warned: I altered this part. Didn't like the other version...

Clint cursed under his breath. If Natasha didn’t want to be found, nobody could find her indeed. He stopped for a moment, because there was a sound. And an air vent that wasn’t totally closed. A mistake. Natasha.

It took him exactly ten seconds to climb up there. She had rolled into a ball, her arms around her knees and her hands in her hair. Normally, he knows exactly what he should do and how she would react, but this time it was different. She was crying. And Natasha Romanov never cries.

And then it was Budapest all over again. 

 

_He saw her running in front of him. They were both panting, nearly completely out of breath. But it didn’t matter. What mattered was Fury yelling into their ears. The last part of their otherwise very explosive mission had looked so easy. Get into the villa, take the files they were searching, not leaving any fingerprints and then running back to the car._

_It hadn’t been that easy. Somebody had sold them out. And hadn’t it been for Natasha’s quick reaction, they’d have been dead within seconds._

_The security men were behind them. Trained soldiers, as good as any SHIELD agent, slowly narrowing the gap between the fugatives and themselves._

_In front of him, Natasha jumped over to the next house. She nearly fell down the roof, because some of the tiles were loose. Clint’s heart stopped at that moment. He jumped, too, and then she grabbed him. “We have to get down here.“ she said with those beautiful grey-green eyes of hers. For a moment – just a moment – Clint Barton was distracted. But then he shook his head. “I guess you’re right.“ he said and started climbing down._

_They were in the yard of an old factory. It was quiet. Too quiet._

_Only seconds later, there were their hunters. All armed. And all the two agents had were two guns (Natasha) and a quiver that was only filled with normal arrows that couldn’t do anything special (Clint). He hadn’t lost his bow, but it was slightly cracked. He wouldn’t be able to strain the bow like he was used to, because then it would break. Apart from that they had some knives and Natasha had a bunch of her widow’s bites._

_Their enemies attacked and all of a sudden Clint felt how exhausted he was. Still, he kicked his next enemy in the shoulder, sending him spinning and falling to the ground. It started to snow._

_And then they’d done it. They’d got rid of their enemies, and Clint didn’t even have any memories of that. Maybe it was because he had been alive 48 hours non-stop now._

_Natasha grabbed his arm. “We’re not finished.“ she hissed._

_“Marksman?“ he asked, panting._

_She nodded, said “On the roof.“ while trying to sound casually._

_“You armed?“_

_“Nope. No bullets, no widow’s bites, not even a knife. The last one broke it. You?“_

_“Ditto. Now what?“_

_“_ You got a squadron of guards coming, better armed than the rest _.“ Fury radioed._

_“No aid of SHIELD?“ Clint tried to sound not as tired as he was._

_“_ We’re on our ways. Can you hold up five more minutes? _“ the director asked._

_The squad came round the corner._

_“Bet we can’t.“ Natasha said and vanished out of Clint’s view._

_She’d done this before. Just vanish and attack the enemy from behind, that was her strategy._

_Their enemies had machine guns. This was going to be hard, Clint knew._

_The first salvo smashed the rock he was hiding behind to pieces. While they were reloading Clint ran towards them, jumping over the debris. The first man made contact with Hawkeye’s knees in his guts, the second got Clints fist on his nose. Both struggled to stand up, but he broke one ankle and roundhouse kicked the other guy in the head. Then Natasha was back, shooting with a gun she had picked up. They worked side to side, like they always did. And it worked._

_Clint saw the combat through a blur, didn’t really hear the screaming and shouting. But he saw the sniper. And he wouldn’t be called Hawkeye if his eyes weren’t extraordinately good. They were. And just because of them he saw how the finger of the marksman pulled the trigger to sent the bullet on his way. Straight in Natasha’s heart._

_The time was frozen. Clint saw the sign of the Red Room on the sniper’s shoulder, and he knew: this man was sent out to kill Natasha._

_“_ Barton, there’s a sniper aiming at you _.“ came Fury’s voice over the comm. line._

_Clint knew. He knew too well. And there was only one thing he could do._

_So he ran, crossed the space between him and Natasha in fractions of a second, grabbed her shoulders and yanked her to the side, bringing his body between the bullet and her._

_They landed hard, with him on top of her. His right shoulder seemed to explode, to be ripped apart by the unbearable pain that settled there. Bullets were fired into the concrete wall next to them, ripping chunks out and sent them flying through the air. They cut into the assassins’ bare skin, tearing it open until the blood started to flow._

_It was all in a mist. Natasha dragging him behind some bigger stones, her face partially cut and bleeding, her mouth opening and closing._

_Only seconds later he realized she was screaming. At him, to be exact. His name, Clint. Over and over again. He tried to focus on her, but his vision was clouded. He barely felt her nails digging into his shoulders._

_“Clint! Clint, please! Talk to me!“ Her voice broke through the barrier in his ears._

_He choked. “’tasha.“ he croaked._

_“Just stay awake!“ He could see the fear in her eyes. And were those tears? Not for him, surely._

_“You are going to be alright!“ she continued. But he shook his head._

_“Tasha, I-“ That was where everything got black._

 

_When he awoke, he startled. Clean. White. Desinfection spray smell. Quiet. Lying on something hard. A blanket. A white room. Small. Only his bed. A door opposite to him. A milky window next to the door. Machines. Beeping. Glowing softly. Pain in his head. A whole lot of pain. A whole lot more pain in his back. A voice._

_“Clint.“_

_A figure next to him. On a chair. Red hair. Black suit. A woman. Cuts in the face. Natasha._

_“Clint, you alright?“ That worried look in her eyes._

_He wanted to say something, something stupid, something Hawkeye said in such situations. Something witty. But he couldn’t. He just stared at her. He remembered everything. The shocked look in her eyes. The tears. He knew it had been tears. But she would deny it. She was Natasha Romanov, after all._

 

Clint shook his head. That wasn’t helping at all. Whether she had had tears in her eyes or not back then in Budapest didn’t matter, because now she really was crying. He had never been good in comforting other people. And he couldn’t handle his partner crying and sobbing silently.

So he put his arm around her and pulled her close. She didn’t struggle, just buried her face at his chest and pressing close to him. 

And then Clint felt the tears rising up in his own eyes. He swallowed hard on the lump that had formed in his throat but couldn’t swallow it down.

_Hawkeye doesn’t cry_ , he thought, and then the tears started streaming down his cheeks as well. He pressed his face into her hair, tears wetting the red curls.

She grabbed his shoulders and bit into his shirt.

“He didn’t mean it, you know?“ he whispered and sobbed. “He also loved Phil. His own way maybe, but he still loved him.“

She didn’t respond, just tugged his shirt harder.

“I also can’t take what he did, but I can understand him. And since it was me who... who killed Phil-“

“Don’t you dare say that!“ She lifted her head and stared angrily at him. Her eyes were red from the tears that were still running over her cheeks. “Clint, it wasn’t you. You didn’t even touch him.“

“But I lead the mission to destroy the Helicarrier.“ he answered. “If I hadn’t, Phil maybe would be alive now.“

She shook her head. “Please, Clint, don’t. You know he wouldn’t want you to think this way. And I don’t want you to do so, either.“

He sighed. “Tasha, these images... every night... they are just...“ He swallowed at the lump in his throat that had grown bigger.

Natasha took his head between her hands. “Clint, I don’t want to loose you. But right now.... I am. I am loosing you to these nightmares. And all I want is you.“

He frowned. “Want me? Like _what_?“

Her voice was soft. “Like the man that is always at my side. Like the man who always laughs with me. Like the man I fall asleep next to on a mission and he is teasing me days after for that. Like the man that steps in front of a gun for me. Like just the way you are.“

He snorted. 

“Clint, I know I’m normally not a person who gets all touchy-feely, but... see, I – you – we...“ she stopped. 

“Clint, you and Phil... you were the only friends I ever had. And now one of them has died and the other one is breaking apart. I know you can’t sleep because of the nightmares, and I see the look in you eyes when you are awake then, but I wish-“

“You wish it was you of whom I am thinking? You wish it was you who causes me being not able to sleep at night? Was it that what you wanted to say?“ he hissed.

“No, I just want Clint Barton back. _My_ Clint Barton.“ she said softly.

He bristled with anger. “Well, you can’t have him because he’s gone. You can have Clint the monster instead, Clint who kills his colleagues, Clint who defected to the enemy. But the Clint you are talking about doesn’t even exist anymore. He died the moment he shot the first agent!“

She shook her head. “No. He’s still there. I _know_. And I’ll get him back with whatever I need to do.“

He shrugged. “You wasting your time.“

Natasha grabbed him firmly. “I – Am – Not!“

“You are!“ he shot back.

When she didn’t reply, he went on: “Loki killed that Clint. I don’t even know why Fury let me stay in the team. I am more dangerous than the Hulk, because I _know_ things, things even Hill doesn’t know. And I told Loki on my own. He didn’t even have to ask me. And when the next super villain comes, he’ll certainly know that I know so many secrets. And he’ll get me and make me tell everything. He’ll turn me in the weapon I am and he’ll point me towards you. And you will stand there, the Avengers, with the brave Captain in front of you, and you will all die! Because you didn’t kill me now, because you didn’t imprison me. Because you were too _soft_!“

Natasha watched in horror as she saw the madness burn in Clint’s eyes. That was not her partner that spoke, this was someone who was at his deepest abyss inside, ready to jump.

“What will you do? You wouldn’t stand a chance! I know the weapon SHIELD is designing to take out and tie up the Hulk, I know how you can outsmart the Captain and turn him prisioner, I know how you can shut Tony’s suit down, I know how one could hurt _you_ , what works against you. And still you want to keep me near you? That’s ridiculous!“ he yelled.

This time, she grabbed his shoulders real tough and shook him. The tears had returned to her eyes, making her blink every now and then.

“Dammit, Clint, I don’t want to loose you! I need you, I need you to be on my side! Because... oh, screw it!“

She slapped him in the face and kissed him. Simple as that.

“Whoa.“ He blinked a few times. “Tasha, what-?“

“You have no fucking _idea_ , Clint. You have no idea how it is to hear you speaking like that. So just go the fuck away and come back when you can handle all that emotional crap of yours or when you can, I’m tired of it! I’m tired of you not accepting yourself, I’m tired of you pushing away the help people offer you. I’m tired of...“ She shook her head. “Damnit, Clint, I just – you are the only friend I have. And I could never develop a relationship like ours with one of the other Avengers. You save my live everytime you are able to, and... I enjoy working with you, you know that. But I can’t take it to see you like _this._ So just come the hell back when you are willing to deal with yourself.“

And with that she left.

 

Clint had never felt so miserable in his whole life. He was currently running through New York. Where? He didn’t know. Why? Because he couldn’t stand himself. He had ruined it all. Everything he had ever wanted was Natasha. He didn’t know if he wanted her to love him, or just wanted to be her best friend, but he didn’t want her hating him. But she did, now. And it was all because of him. He had destroyed it all, due to his asshole-ness.

So now he was running. From what? From himself, probably. From the people who trusted him. Far too much. 

People were looking at him strangely, maybe asking themselves if they had seen his face before. Maybe they would remember him later. _Oh, hey, wasn’t that the guy that hang around with these superheroes? What was his name?_

Not that Clint minded. He actually liked staying in the back, being anonymous, a grey face. Not like Natasha sometimes. She liked attention every now and then.

But Clint was really fine with being not known. Even younger SHIELD agents sometimes didn’t even recognize him.

And so he ran, unrecognized, unstopped. He stormed over a red traffic light, ignoring the honking behind him. The hood of his hoodie he had pulled over his face had slipped down. 

His clothing wasn’t in the best condition. He had had the shoes for at least ten years now, and it was recognizable. His jeans were the ones he normally wore (really, he didn’t have more than three pairs of jeans, and every now and then he got into a rather bloody incident with them, and they certainly looked like that), so they had witnessed the last time he had wanted to cook, they had fallen into a swamp and stuff like that. His hoodie had once been light grey, now it was red-brown-black-green whatever. Also he hadn’t really bothered to shave this morning because he had felt like dying.

To be honest, he looked like a homeless drug addict. And he was tired.

 

Clint stopped. Where was he? He had no idea. Where was he going? Didn’t matter. And _who the hell was he_? He was nothing, nothing worth at least.

“Mummy, look! That’s the Avengers-guy, the one with the bow!“ a six-year old said, pointing towards Clint, who shot him a deathly glare.

“Shh, don’t point at people.“ his mother reminded him and pulled the boy away. The woman glanced over her shoulder. Clearly, Clint looked horrifying.

 

Clint stared at the reflection of his face in the display window. A person appeared behind him. Short, red hair, about as tall as himself. 

“Natasha.“ he said quietly, slowly. Why had she come? 

“Do you really want to leave me alone?“ she asked.

“How can you not hate me?“ he whispered. “After all I’ve done...“

“Yes, after all you’ve done... for Manhattan, for the people, for SHIELD.“

“After I had betrayed you all.“

“Clint.“ She put her hand on his shoulders. “Clint, it was not your fault.“

“If I had reacted-“

“Look, I’ve seen the videos. You had no chance. _Nobody_ would have had a chance.“

“I shot Fury, I managed to get Hill struck under the debris, I helped Loki to escape, I stole a SHIELD van, I killed two guards to get the Iridium, I nearly killed everybody on the Helicarrier, I killed at least ten SHIELD agents. I know I killed Markenov, Somber, Wells, Smith, Rover. Rover had a family, I met them once after a mission with him. He had a woman and two daughters, eight and five by now. I killed their daddy. I killed him. Natasha, there is no way I could ever... the red in my ledger, I can never wash it away.“

She nodded, slowly.

“Yes, and that’s right. Because you shouldn’t forget it, but you can make it better. A bit. Not much, but it’s the little things that count. I know you met them more than once, Rover managed to take you and his daughters to the zoo in a desperate attempt to get you out of the HQ. After that you ate ice-cream once, and once you-“

“-we ate spaghetti.“ he said softly. “With his daughters. His woman is often not there, so he has to take care of them quite a lot. Their names are Leni and Sammi.“

“They were quite fond of you.“ Natasha smiled.

“Yeah.“

They were quiet for a moment.

“So... but Natasha, you can’t want me to do this, I mean...“

“Well, what do you think you should do?“

“I don’t know.“ He hung his head.

“You should attend the funeral. To show that you care, that you are sorry. And you could really spend time with the two girls. Clint, that’s what I mean with the little things that count. Of course I don’t want you to equalize Rover, but... it might help. Not only the family, but also you.“

He nodded, slowly.

“And, Clint...“

“Yes?“

“Don’t do that again. Don’t leave me here. You are the only person I have.“ 

“Nice hearing you say that.“

“It’s the truth. It... you don’t know how it was. When I went back to them, and then we realized you were away. JARVIS said you ran away, and... now we’re all searching for you. Because you are a member of the team, Clint. And you are... SHIELD needs you. The Avengers need you. _I_ need you.

They’re all worried. Stark also, even if he won’t show it. But I can read him pretty well. Steve says he should have taken his time to get to know you better, so he could have taken care of you, because it is apparently his duty as our leader, and Bruce said something very difficult, something about some science and psychology, to calm Steve, and Stark agreed on that. Stark also says you should maybe just be drunk the next week, he said that being completely drunk helps most of the times.“

Clint half-smiled. “Yeah, I read your report on mission Stark. Sure, if I was a guy like him, getting completely drunk would solve all of my problems.“

“See? You two can meet at his bar at night and philosophize about the world.“

“We should definitely do that some night.“

“Yeah, so now come on.“ She tugged his arm.

“I don’t want to drive.“

“Then we’ll walk.“

“Central Park?“ he asked hopefully.

“So you can climb trees and pretend you are a bird, and everybody looks like we are some lunatics?“

“You know, you yourself said once: ‘I’m a SHIELD agent, I’ve got a license for being strange.‘“

Natasha smiled. “Yes, I know I said that.“

“See?“

She pulled out her phone to text the others she had found Clint, but then she frowned.

“I don’t know about you, but... see, I’ve never had a real childhood. And, umm... could we maybe visit that funfair at Central Park?“

“If Fury sees us, we’re dead.“

“So?“

He grinned. “So we should definitely go there.“

She brightened. “I _knew_ there was a reason I like you.“

“Because I can take your madness?“

“No, but because I know no other agent that would come with me to my first funfair.“

She wanted to hug him. It was horrible, seeing Clint like this, but... well, at least she had him distracted now.

 

 

They had had fun at the funfair. They had certainly eaten too much -Natasha felt a bit sick, to be honest.

So now they were heading to Central Park so Clint could climb trees. She sat on a bench and watched him run around like a crazy squirrel. It was one of the most freaky, but also one of the most adorable sides of Clint, she had to admit. When he was around trees, he was normally happy. Why, she didn’t know. But it was just so cute watching him. And somehow, he got up every tree. Right now it was an old oak, and she just caught a glimpse of him balancing over one of the branches. And old couple who were passing by stopped.

“Excuse me, but is that a man in the tree?“ the woman asked Natasha.

The redhead smiled. “Yeah, there is a man. But he’s a hawk. No need to be afraid, though. He’s friendly, most of the time. You can feed him, if you want to.“

“Heard that, Tasha.“ Clint suddenly stood to her left.

She turned her head. “How’d y’ get here?“

“I flew.“

“Finished playing? I’m getting cold, could we go?“

“Just five more minutes, yes?“ he pleaded.

“God, you behave like a three-year old.“

“No need to call me ‘god‘. Clint is totally okay.“

She punched him. “Idiot.“

He smiled and ran away, this time climbing a birch. He definitely moved very elegant. And he had a very nice body. And a nice ass. She didn’t deny that. She had even told him so, and they were both totally okay with it. They had seen eachother injured, nearly dead, completely naked. They had stiched eachother together after missions. They had bathed together, they had gotten drunk together. Actually, when she started to think about it, there were very few things they didn’t share. Mobiles – he wouldn’t give his away - , iPods, shoes maybe. They had shared their clothing already, they had shared laptops, DVDs, money. They even shared their bed sometimes without any problems (not like having sex, but just sleeping). She wasn’t allow to play tricks on him involving his weapons, though. And they didn’t share their past. Not much of it, at least. They had told each other some things, but not that much. She didn’t know whether he had a family, where he grew up, if he had a graduation, what his favourite subject in school was, if he had had friends when he was younger. She didn’t know how he came to SHIELD. And for him it was similar: he hadn’t asked for her life before SHIELD. He knew some things, because it had been his mission to kill her, and thus he had informed himself somewhat, but it wasn’t much.

They had this unspoken deal: ask only if it’s necessary, don’t pry further when you have your information and don’t tell anybody or get back at it some time. It worked really well. 

Their relationship nearly depended on this, Natasha thought. Maybe they trusted each other because they didn’t know more than they needed to know. Maybe, if he had told her something about his past, she might not be able to trust him as much as she did now. 

And it was this what made him being more at ease around her than around other people. Natasha didn’t fool herself: she knew that except from Phil there would not have been another person who could have taken Clint to the funfair directly after the archer wanted to kill himself.

But now she was really getting cold. It was late, and since it was the beginning of autumn, nights were really cold already.

“Come on, Clint, we’re going home!“ she called.

The archer jumped down a tree, smiling.

“So you say STARK Tower is your home already?“

She thought about it. “Well...“

“I might have to remember you of what you said about Stark after that mission...“

“I like the bed.“ she admitted.

“Yeah, and the coffee is great.“

“Also, I have to kick his ass in case he doesn’t build the trainingsfloor like he promised.“

“Justice!“

“Right, because if he keeps his promise – and he will have to, otherwise I’ll be after him – that will be a great thing, much better than what SHIELD has.“

“Hey, you think he would maybe make more than only one floor the trainingsroom?“

“Steve wanted a climbing-wall, so maybe he will have to make it higher, at least.“

“Yeah, and I’d like something to climb totally free.“

She laughed. “Now that’s just Clint Barton.“

“Sure it is. I’m a hawk, what do you expect?“

“Well, I was quite surprised to see you sleep in an ordinary bed. Not a hammock, was it?“

“Uh-uh, I didn’t sleep.“

“Maybe you really need your hammock back.“

“Could be, yes.“

“So you’re moving in with Stark?“

“Well...“ he paused. “See, Tasha, I like him. I know you don’t, but... I do. And if he keeps the promise, that’s going to be heaven on earth for me.“

“Yeah, you’re a fitness-nut, we all know that.“

“I just like to be trained... just in case.“

They fell silent for a moment. Then Clint said: “I’m gonna miss you, Tasha.“

She raised her eyebrows. “Why?“ she asked simply.

“Because you won’t live in the tower, but with SHIELD, I guess. Since you don’t like him.“

Natasha shook her head. “No. Wherever you go, I follow. Just think how boring the HQ will be without you. Without a hawk that wakes me with his morning singing in the shower. Without a hawk that will complain over the coffee. Without a hawk that pops out of the ceiling and scares the hell out of Fury... and everybody else. Without a hawk that sits in the beams of the command center and scares every baby agent and most of the senior ones, too.“

He smiled while thinking of his favourite pastime.

“How am I supposed to live without _my_ favourite private hawk, huh? Of course am I moving in with Stark. As long as you are there, my pain will be bearable.“

“Well, you can go shopping with Pepper.“

“Haven’t gone shopping in ages.“

“Then you should try it again. Not that you are out of practice if your shopping skills are asked for on a mission, right?“

She grinned. “Oh, if you keep annoying me like that, I won’t live in the tower, no way!“

“I thought you had to live there, since I am your favourite hawk.“

“Well, there are other other birds in the sky, aren’t there? Some made of iron, for example.“

He frowned. “You wouldn’t do that, right?“

“Would I?“

“I thought you loved me!“

She laughed and punched him. “Love you? You didn’t really think that, did you?“

Clint was confused. She had kissed him, right? So, didn’t that mean she loved him?

“Uh, yes.“

“Why?“

“Because... duh, you kissed me.“

Suddenly, her gaze got soft.

“Yeah, Clint, see...“

“Love is for children, I know.“

“So you’re gonna strangle me with my own words? How do you even know?“

“Fury told me you had a sucess while interrogating Loki. So I thought... I don’t know what I thought. I just like to see you on video, maybe.“

“Clint... it is possible that people change, you know? Take Stark as an example. Before he met Rogers, no way he had took the nuke through the portal. But he did.“

“So?“

“I’ve lost you many times before, thought you were dead. But... it was different, this time. Because you weren’t dead, but you still looked like yourself while doing things my Clint wouldn’t do. It was harder than thinking you were dead, because... it hurt. It really hurt. More than it would have if you were dead.“

“And?“

“When I realized how hard it was to have you as an enemy, we met on the Helicarrier and we fought. And I used this fight as a vent for my feelings.“

“So that’s how you feel for me? I make you want to hurt people?“

“No. That’s not it. It’s... you make me realize how little I got... and how I should treat it.“

“Like hitting me really hard in the head?“

“Clint, I – I thought I had lost you forever!“

“Yeah, and?“

“I just wanted you so desperately back. That was why I fought like that.“

“Yeah, you fought like a wild cat that tried to seduce me.“

She shot him a questioning look.

“It was very hot. How you moved. How you acted. It was hot. And at first I thought you were trying to seduce me so I would give up.“

“I normally fight like this?“

“No, you don’t. You fight much more distanced. But I could see it in your face. Emotions. I couldn’t read them though, you were moving too fast and I was too distracted by trying to stay alive.“

“Funny, really.“

“I’m serious, Natasha.“

“So am I.“

“Then tell me: What do you feel for me?“

“It is not that easy.“

“I got time.“

“Yeah...“

“Come on, Natasha. Tell me. I need to know.“

“Clint, you were a great partner all these years. And I appreciate it very much how you spared my life and didn’t change your mind although Fury was kicking your ass. And I also appreciate how you stood at my side. Whatever it was, you were always there. For me.“

“Hey, you’ve done the same.“

“Yes, but you should have killed me, back then.“

“You are still alive, because you are a great warrior not because I spared you.“

“No, Clint. You saved my life often enough... I never got to thank you.“

“Then do it now, but first there is a question that still wants to be answered.“

“Then I’d like to do both now.“

“Yeah, sure. Go ahead.“

She rested her hands on his shoulders. They were equally tall, so she could look into his eyes.

“See, Clint...“ 

She bit her lower lip and felt his hands moving towards her waist. 

He frowned. “Tasha?“

She could see the worry in his eyes. They were not only grey, but there were green and blue sparkles in them. Not visible at the first sight, but if you looked closely enough...

“We searched _everywhere_ for you two!“ Tony’s voice cut through to them.

Instantly, Natasha stepped backwards and eyed the billioniare suspiciously.

“Is it what it looked like?“ said man asked curious.

“Even if it was, that’d be none of your business.“ the woman snapped.

Tony had taken the time and dressed into a invaluable light grey suit. He was playing with the keys of his Aston Martin.

“Where are the others?“ Natasha asked.

Tony motioned to Bruce and Steve who were just crossing the street to meet them.

“Clint, see. I’m sorry. Really.“ was the first thing Steve said.

“It’s not your fault.“ the archer replied standardly. If he was honest – he had no idea who the blonde was. Surely, Clint had read the files, had listened to Coulson talking about Captain America for hours and hours, had fought side to side with the blonde, but still. Who was this man? Was he really the hero Coulson could babble about for hours, the one who was the hero in the comics Clint had read? It was something most assassins thought about: how will my counterpart react if I tell him something? How will he react if I do something? 

Normally, this was one of the first things the archer got to know about a person. How they would react. What kind of stuff they liked. But Steve... Clint couldn’t read him. He knew not a _thing_ about the Captain _._ After all, that was the guy he had to trust fully and follow into a battle.

“Are you okay?“ the blonde asked.

“Yeah... yeah, sure, I’m just...?“

“What is it?“ Did the Captain really look worried.

“I feel like I’m going to throw up. Natasha dragged me to that funfair.“

Steve grinned. “Yeah, I saw that thing. But that’s nothing. There was a Cyclone on Coney Island-“

“Oh, yeah. I remember that.“ Clint cut in. “Natasha dragged me there, too. Was for a mission, though.“

“Yeah, but it’s much, much worse than this little roller-coaster on that funfair.“ the Captain smiled.

“Yes, it definitely is.“ the archer replied.

“The Cyclone at Coney Island?“ Tony asked, brightening.

“Yeah?“ Clint frowned.

“We go there. Tomorrow. As a family event.“

“We are no family, Stark.“ Natasha cut in.

“Yes we are. Since you’re the only woman, you gotta be the evil stepmother, Bruce is the daddy, Steve is the oldest son, and Clint and I are-“

“The annoying twins.“ Natasha said. “Yeah, you’re Fred and George.“

“I can live with that.“ Clint smiled. “So, Coney Island tomorrow?“

“Since we are some sort of a team now, I think we should make a list of things we should do sometime.“ Tony said, smiling.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now this is my absolutely least favorite chapter... And I already took out a chunk of stuff I absolutely couldn't stand.  
> Also, Blackhawk!  
> Eeeh, thank you for reading anyways. Share your thoughts maybe?


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heere we go again~   
> Enjoy!

So when they were back in the tower, the billionaire made them sit on the various couches in the living room/seating area and made a screen blink up. He opened a new document.

“So, we decided we were going to Coney Island, Deno’s Wonder Wheel Amusement Park, right?“

“ _And_ the cyclone!“ Steve said.

Tony nodded and changed the document.

“So, we are going to Deno’s and the cyclone?“

“You aren’t going anywhere!“ Pepper said suddenly from behind. She stepped out of the elevator and was well aware of the gazes of the Avengers upon her.

“Why am I not?“ the billionaire asked.

“Because tomorrow is a board meeting.“ His Co-CEO smiled sweetly.

“True, but I did do my homework, didn’t I?“

“So you wanna trade what I had promised you in case you were finished to not having to go to that board meeting tomorrow?“

“Um, no.“

“Well, then you won’t go to any cyclone tomorrow.“

“Come on, Pepper, you can’t do this.“

“I totally can. Or do I have to remember you of the other thirteen meetings you _promised_ to attend and didn’t?“

“Well, on two I was sick-“

“Tony Stark doesn’t get sick, you just didn’t want to, and I was in Chicago back then so I couldn’t take care of you.“

“Okay, okay, but some three I couldn’t attend, because I was very busy inventing things-“

“That weren’t the least important.“

“And then I was invited to that gala, and then I had to fix my repulsors, and then-“

“Tony, these are no excuses! You will go there tomorrow, whether you like it or not.“

“Oh, come on, Pep!“

“No. You can visit that park another time, it won’t run away.“

“The board won’t, too.“

“But you have a responsibility for your company!“

Tony sighed. “But... Pepper, I don’t want to go!“

“Stark Industries is still manufacturing weapons. Didn’t you want to change that?“

“Yeah, I decided to do some other stuff, too.“

“But you don’t. So?“

The billioniare rolled his eyes. “So what?“

“What is Stark Industries going to do apart from making weapons?“

Tony thought about it. “Cars. Coffee machines. Phones, whatever. I _pay_ people to think about it.“

“But the stocks are declining! There are other companies that are more important now: Apple, Microsoft... many car companies, Buscotto, Lendor... Stark Industries has to get back to the world! You need to appear again.“

“So, what do you want me to do?“ the genius sighed.

“I’m giving you a deadline until tomorrow morning, eight o’clock. Till then you will have decided on some things Stark Industries will be selling in the forseeable future.“

“Eight o’clock... AM or PM?“

Pepper frowned. “You aren’t being serious, are you?“

“But then I will have to stay awake this night!“

“That won’t be the first time, right?“ Natasha intervened. “Also, Pepper’s right. The company isn’t named Stark Industries for nothing. I’ve monitored it since that mission, and I know damn well how it is doing. There are other names now that are greater than Stark Industries. Hammer, for example. He got his company opened up again, and he might just outbuy you.“

Tony hung his head. But he knew he couldn’t do a thing when Pepper had that look in her eyes. So he agreed.

“Well, you know how that computer works. Just think of a few things and maybe design the floors a bit. We had agreed on everybody having their own floor, then we’ll have at least four floors where you can train, and one floor that will contain a swimming pool. I’m down in my lab, so email me when you have thought of something.“ He turned and wanted to leave, but Pepper grabbed his shoulders.

“Wait.“ she said. “There’s some things that I’d like to discuss before.With all of you.“

They looked at her questioningly.

“You gonna stay – I have no problem with that – but I’d like some rules. Some that are specific for each Avenger, for example let’s say ‘Don’t wake Steve before eight AM.’ or something like that, and then some that are about the general living with each other.“

She made a new document and entitled it ‘RULES’.

“I’m also gonna print them out, everybody has to sign them, and when we make changes, we have to re-print and re-sign them. First, your rules. Go ahead.“

“Nobody goes into my workshop without asking for my permission for that specific visit.“ Tony said quickly.

“Clint and I are allowed to behave like assassins.“ Natasha contered.

“Which involves being creepy.“, Clint added.

“Okay.“ Pepper eyed them but shrugged and wrote it down.

“The one who uses the last bit of coffee has to buy new one.“ Tony said. “Same goes for tea, I think.“

“What about you two?“ Pepper asked Steve and Bruce. “Just go ahead.“

Steve shrugged. “I have no ideas right now.“

“Me neither.“ the docter said.

“Okay, then I’ll leave it with that, concerning your personal rules. Then I’ll continue with mine. First, no loud music after 10 PM, except for Tony’s workshop, because it’s soundproof.“

She watched JARVIS write it down.

“Secondly, Happy and I won’t do the shopping all alone. So, every week one of you will help us. We’ll make the lists for that tomorrow morning. Meeting is at six o’clock, don’t be late.“

“That’s early.“ Tony said, but no one listened anyway.

“Thirdly, if you make a mess, you clean it yourself. We’ll also make a list of who will prepare dinner, which we all will eat together. Always. No exception there for anyone. Also, if anyone makes a total mess somewhere, let’s say the kitchen, this one is expelled from the kitchen for some time. I’ll have JARVIS control that. Any other questions?“

“No.“ Tony said. “But a rule: Nobody will ever touch my bowl or my mug. Did I make myself clear?“

“Which mug?“ Steve asked.

Pepper rolled her eyes. “You know his bowl?“

The super soldier nodded. “Sure.“

“His mug looks the same, is the same material. So don’t touch it. Not even I am allowed to.“

She looked around. “Anything else?“

“Yeah.“ 

Pepper looked slightly annoyed to the genius. “What is it now?“

“First, nobody touch my t-shirts, secondly, nobody complains about my music, and last of all: If you need something, so, for example you, Bruce, you need equipment for your lab – which we’ll set it up, of course – so you’re gonna write me a list of the stuff you need. Same for the others. Also: If anybody _dares_ to take one of my cars, I will personally let this person experience what having Tony Stark as one’s enemy means.“

The genius stepped into the elevator and vanished. Then his voice came over the speakers: “Also, why don’t you start to virtually furnish your floors. Just choose some, JARVIS’ll tell you which ones are empty.“

The moment it was quiet, Pepper collapsed onto the couch next to Steve.

“God, he’s driving me crazy.“ she muttered.

Clint cracked his knuckles. “So, let’s see. JARVIS, open me a simulation of one of the totally empty floors, without walls and stuff.“

_Of course, Clint._ the AI replied smoothly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since it has been a few years since I wrote this fic, I now know that the Cyclone isn't working anymore (I visited it actually). Maybe I'll change that someday.  
> Until then: I hope you enjoyed reading that and maybe you'll leave a review please? :)


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is surprisingly Tony-centric :)

While the Avengers spent their time designing rooms and floors and having quite a lot fun, Tony wasn’t that happy. He had to show Pepper some precise inventions _tomorrow_ and for the first time in his life, Tony was lacking inspiration. Phones, cars, coffee machines... that was nothing a Tony Stark could invent.

So he was busy browsing the web and found the Apple start page. It was advertising the new iPhone 5. How great it was and stuff. And slowly, the wheels in Tonys head started to spin again.

After ten minutes he rapidly got up and called Happy to bring him to the next phone shop.

And exactly fifteen minutes later he sat in his workshop again and stared at his new iPhone 5. It was sleek black, had two cameras (one on the front and one on the back), a flashlight, a touchscreen. And it worked quite nice, but still... there was something about this phone Tony didn’t like. He pulled out his Stark phone (one of only two on the entire earth; Pepper got the second) and examined it. It was pretty, handy, looked cool, was totally phonetic, also in traffic or when it was loud, could contain about one terabyte of datas, had a camera much better than the iPhone’s. The earbuds of his Stark phone were completely wireless and they had a micro so you could either talk with the phone or actually phone someone. His phone was connected to the internet on the entire planet, it was slightly transparent and it was much lighter than the iPhone. Also, his applications were much, much cooler.

“JARVIS, open a new document. Call it _Stark phone_.“ the genius ordered.

 

He had worked all the night. And he did indeed manage to finish the prototype: Stark Phone I.

It looked like his phone, but not as good. It was compatible with all Apple products, but had a great deal of unique functions, including very good cameras (two), a very good microphone, wireless earbuds, fast internet connection and a number of other very important details.

Tony looked at his watch. 5:30. Very good. He had still time to shower and then he could show Pepper his new invention.

_Sir, do you want to fabric the Stark phone?_ JARVIS asked.

“Ye- wait!“ A thougt hat formed in his head.

“Say, J, should I maybe... what about... do I have a Batman-DVD?“

_No, Sir, not that I know._

“Then I should buy one, right?“

_If you think it is necessary, Sir._ the AI replied.

“No, wait. We’ll do it a different way. Just download _Batman-The Dark Knight_ , would you? I guess it is the beginning of Batman?“

_Actually,_ Batman Begins _is the first movie._

“Yeah, then download that and put it on my phone, too. Or just download them all, whatever.

In exactly thirty minutes, I want to have everything on my phone.“

 

Since he didn’t want to wake Pepper, he used the shower in his workshop. After ten minutes of cold, cold water he was the most inspired man in the world. 

Being in a hurry to write down what he wanted to build, he just dressed in whatever clothing there was.

“JARVIS, open a new document!“ he ordered while still fumbling with the buttons of his jeans.

“And gimme that tablet-touchscreen-thingy.“

_Of course, Mr Stark. Which music should I play?_

“Nickelback.“

He ran over to his main computer and grabbed the pencil. It looked like a pencil, but, well, he could draw with it on a tablet.

“So, what we’re going to do is a car.“

_A car, sir?_

“Right, a car. Because... see, Batman got a Batmobile, doesn’t he? That’s because he’s a hero. And I’m a hero, too. So I have to make a cool car for me. But that’s secondary. As a primary project we’ll focus on a car Stark Industries is going to sell. _But_ it will act as though it is a cool hero car for me only. And the thought is that only very privileged people drive it, so very many will want to drive it.“

He liked explaining JARVIS his projects, so he went on: “But it of course has to be cool. So, first it has to look cool, like a race car of some sorts. People – rich people – like that kind of stuff. But only looking cool is too mainstream. So – and please write that down, J – it has to have an amazing stereo. And it has to have some more cool features. Like being phonetic, and you can phone while driving, and it is completely good for the environment – the press likes such things – and some other cool stuff, but I’ll think of it later.“

_What about a computer in the car?_ JARVIS asked.

“Yeah... yeah, that’s great, actually. A touchscreen... and a GPS... and fancy lights? No.“

Tony drew a car shape. 

“Okay, so... like this... and now some wheels...“

He was actually a pretty good technical drawer. JARVIS straighened out the lines and helped a bit, but overall it was mostly Tony’s work.

“How should I name the car?“ he asked while JARVIS made a 3D-model out of the car.

“I can’t name it _Stark mobile_ , can I?“

He went on playing with the car, until the glass door suddenly slammed open. Normally it would open on its own, but not if you tried to walk through it too fast.

“JARVIS, turn the music down.“ a fuming Pepper odered.

Tony turned around in his chair.

“Look, Pepper, it’s not how it looks.“

“That’s what you’re telling me _all the time_!“

“I know, but this time I have two things invented.“

She crossed her arms in front of her chest. “Then let’s see.“

“Okay, so. First, the Stark phone. I bought an iPhone, and I decided that there are major issues and bugs. So, Stark Industries will make phones now. These phones are nearly as awesome as ours, but only nearly. Secondly, the car. It is currently unnamed, and I started with it about fifty minutes ago, but it can go about 200 miles per hour, has an awesome stereo, a touchscreen-computer-GPS, looks cool and it can change color by now.“

Pepper frowned. “So you’re telling me you really did something?“

“Yes. The prototype of the Stark phone is already ready, and the car is a simulation by now.“

“That’s totally unlike you, Tony. What happened?“

He took his time to take in what she was wearing. A perfectly white blouse and beige trousers, combined with some high heels. Ah, yes. She was looking wonderful. And since nobody had cuddled him that night, he was lacking a bit of Pepper-ness in his life. So he streched out his arms and reached for his girlfriend.

Tony surprised her when he pulled her onto his lap.

“Tony!“ she yelped. “What are you doing?!“

“Haven’t been cuddled lately.“ he purred into her ear.

She rolled her eyes. Would he never grow up?

 

Pepper finally had to drag him to the meeting. And it was soooo boring!

After ten minutes Tony started playing with his mobile. The meeting was supposed to go on for at least five hours – all because apparently Stark Industries was making a minus. Not that they couldn’t cover it, but blah blah blah.

After having seen the first Batman movie, Tony got even more bored. Since Pepper never answered his texts, he decided to check his emails. And indeed: the other Avengers had sent him some e-mails. Bruce had sent him a list of the equipment he’d like to have for his lab (for which Tony had insisted on giving him a second floor for), all Avengers together had worked out a trainingsfloor and Pepper had made lists of who had to go shopping when.

While the others apparently tried to tell Tony a trainingsfloor had to be five floors big, Pepper’s little note under the simulation simply said _You got expensive friends, Tony._

Well, she was right. But what the others had thought about was too amazing to not build it: There was ‘normal’ things like treadmills, a box ring, stuff like that. And then came the craziness: There was a whole floor dedicated to firing practise that even could fire back, with lasers, arrows, normal ammo, soft balls (what that was for, Tony didn’t understand) and a whole lot of other stuff, then there was a huge climbing wall – about twenty metres high, and then there was free climbing with some ropes – and there was some sort of parcours that was firing at you while you had to jump over things that sometimes moved... all in all crazy stuff Tony partially wouldn’t even dare to use, but if the Avengers wanted this stuff, they should get it. 

So he made a few appointments with the people he chose to build this trainingsfloor.

But apart from that – _nothing!_

Not the tiniest bit of entertainment for him! And so he went on working on the car.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaaand that was it! Hope you enjoyed that - if so, please tell me :) If not, tell me as well! I /do/ want to improve after all...


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This looks to be the last chapter!   
> Enjoy!

The Avengers got along quite well. Usually they met at least in the morning when they were all in the kitchen for breakfast. Clint would be the first one to be there. He always ate cornflakes and drank coffee and sat on the fridge, half sleeping. After him Bruce would enter, greeting him shortly. The doctor would get his tea and make waffles. Usually Clint would take some. After that, Bruce would take the newspaper, his tea and his waffels and sit at the table. After him Steve would enter, having already sparred with Natasha. The captain would drink either hot chocolate or coffee, sometimes tea, make new waffles or pancakes, and then he would sit on the couch breakfasting and reading some book with his kindle, the only modern technology he was able to use without breaking it and still liking it.

Soonly after him, Natasha would fall from the ceiling, making coffee for herself and eat bread with cheese, or, on rare occasions, waffles. She then would sit on the counter chatting quietly with Clint.

Then Pepper would come in, dressed perfectly, and asking if anyone had seen Tony. But nobody ever had, so she would also make coffee for herself and thank Bruce and Steve for saving her some of the waffle dough. She would sit at the table and work with her laptop or read the newspaper. Then she would try to make a nice conversation, but the only one talking with her would be the ever-polite Bruce, sometimes Steve and on rare occasions Natasha.

Exactly when Pepper was about to leave, a still half asleep Tony would stumble in, make a beeline for the coffee machine and be surprised of how many people there were in his kitchen. After making a remark on that, he would vanish into his workshop,

Pepper would go to work, Natasha usually got Clint down for a round of boxing and Bruce would go to his lab.

Pepper usually was away the whole day or at least in her office, Clint and Natasha had enough stuff to do and Bruce was also researching things the whole day, maybe coming up to the kitchen when he was hungry every now and then. And Tony would sit in his workshop and eat the pizza he kept there. When he ran out of it, the genius would come into the kitchen, stock up on food and vanish again.

 

And Steve? Well, the super soldier hadn’t really anything to do. Pepper had helped him to download some books on his kindle, but he was afraid of the day he had read them all and didn’t know what to do now.

Said day had come. After breakfast, he had read the last pages of a novel called ‘The Neverending Story’ which had truly been nice. But now?

He put the kindle down and looked around. The living room was empty, looking unused.

Well, it almost always was. Tony and Bruce would hang around in their labs, Natasha and Clint used to be in SHIELD HQ, and Thor hadn’t returned. Pepper was doing her work, and Steve was the only one who didn’t do anything at all.

He sighed. He didn’t belong in this time, he wanted to go back. He missed his friends, he missed the sound of his time, the smell, the surrounding, the everything.

This time was so confusing, so fast, so noisy, so flashy... Even the movies were only about explosions, about war, about people getting shot on secret missions, about blood being spilled everywhere.

And so was the music! You couldn’t even call it music anymore! Steve had enjoyed listening to music back in the forties, but today music was either electronic, with lots of beats and morphed voices, or it was women crying theatrically into the mircrophone, or it was the music Tony liked so much: rough screaming combined with noise from an electric guitar and drums that sounded like all the metal in the world would be thrown around and some crazy banshees were singing to that. It was horrible.

Also the people were just so... different. Everything had to be fast, cheap, enjoyable, the right temperature. If it wasn’t, people would complain. They totally ignored everybody else, they were so egoistic today! True, people in the forties had of course also been egoistic and stuff like that, but it was worse in the 21st century, Steve thought.

It seemed as thought the whole world was trying to turn into his personal hell. Clearly Tony’s idea; the man couldn’t stand Steve.

It weren’t big rows, it was just a mean remark every now and then, even worse when Steve tried to operate some of the gadgets at the tower. JARVIS took pity on him and simply asked for the floor he wanted to go in the elevator instead of making him push the button, or he helped him with the breakfast. Though Tony had told the AI over and over again that the only person JARVIS would help like that would be Tony himself, he was ignored. That made Tony furious and apparently gave him the permission to make Steve’s life a hell when he felt like it.

So sometimes, the water would turn ice-cold when Steve was showering, and he would jump out of the shower because he hated cold water. His clothes sometimes vanished, or his kindle.

Sometimes his shield would be replaced by a giant frisbee, or all punching bags would vanish. Sometimes the super soldier would wake up in the middle of the night because Dummy poured a bucket of ice cubes over his head, looking guilty.

Or when Steve couldn’t sleep and wanted to wander around in the tower, there would be alarms who were set of the moment he walked past them, waking the whole tower and being an excuse for Tony to yell at him.

The only thing the billionaire didn’t dare to touch yet was the bike. And that was good, because Steve loved the bike. It was the only thing he could forget which time he was in when being with it. But how long was it going to last? How long until he would go crazy in this time? How long until Tony touched his bike? How long until Steve got like the other people in this time? How long until he didn’t miss his friends anymore?

He dreaded that day, the day he would learn to get along with the pain that was always there, that reminded him of who he was. The pain Erskine had started when he had died, tipping at Steve’s chest where his heart was. It had been such a sweet pain actually, but when Bucky had died, it had become really bad. Still, it had always been there and reminded him of what he fought for. And when he woke up in this room, when he had run on the street, when Fury had told him he had slept for sixty-eight years, the pain had been intensified, had given him something to hold on in this time. And Steve dreaded the day he would become used to this world and start to forget his friends from his time and Peggy, and all the other people that meant something to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look at that. It just finishes off with some angst. Aren't I evil?  
> As always, please tell me your thoughts!!
> 
> There just so happens to be a part two by the way! Woooo!


End file.
